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ZURICH – Russia and Belarus cannot participate in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) tournaments even in the 2024/25 season. The Council of the Federation decided on this at Monday’s meeting.
Both countries will not be present at the championship in Sweden and Denmark (May 9-25, 2025). At the same time, the IIHF excluded Belarus from the final stage of qualification for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Belarusians were supposed to present themselves in the D-group in Bratislava at the Ondrej Nepel Winter Stadium in Bratislava (from August 29 to September 1, 2024).
The IIHF thus extended the ban on the start of the Russian and Belarusian national teams and their club representatives in their competitions. It has been in effect since the start of the military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“During one of its regular meetings, the IIHF Council reviewed the current security risks associated with the re-inclusion of Russian and Belarusian national and club teams in IIHF competitions. Based on a thorough analysis, the IIHF Council concluded that the re-inclusion of Russian and Belarusian teams in IIHF competitions is not yet is safe. Therefore, Russia and Belarus will not participate in the IIHF Championship in the 2024/2025 season,” it is stated in the opinion on the official website.
Russia and Belarus will not participate in the 2024/2025 IIHF championship season.
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— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 12, 2024
The Belarusians will not play in Bratislava
In the summer, the Belarusians were supposed to present themselves in Slovakia at the qualifying tournament for advancement to the 2026 Olympics together with the representatives of Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The Slovaks got the right to organize the tournament because they are ranked 9th in the IIHF ranking.
The E-group tournament is to be hosted by Latvia as the 10th ranked team. In Riga, the French, Austrians and players of Great Britain should be introduced. The F-group will be welcomed by Denmark, the 11th ranked country. Norwegians, Slovenians and Japanese are scheduled to start in Aalborg. However, the IIHF is likely to reorganize the groups after the exclusion of Belarus.
Russia’s fate at the Olympics is still not sealed
The IIHF still hasn’t decided what will happen with Russia’s participation in the Olympics. The next tournament will be played with the same system as the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, that is, a dozen countries will participate in it, which will meet in the basic stage in three groups of four. Italy has a certain place as the organizer of the games in 2026. Together with him, eight teams according to the ranking at the end of the past championship in Tampere and Riga. Russia is currently third in it.
“As in past years, the IIHF Council will continue to monitor the situation, and no later than May 2025, at the IIHF Council meeting prior to the IIHF Annual Congress, will determine whether it is safe to re-include Russia and Belarus in the 2025/2026 championship season,” the IIHF statement continues.
- Author: © List/
- Twitter/IIHF
- Source: TASR
2024-02-12 22:18:45
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