Canada Says Russia Will Not Play at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Alberta, Defying a Court Ruling That Lifted the Ban
Fox News (OutKick) reports Prime Minister Mark Carney and Hockey Canada said Tuesday Russian athletes will not compete in Canada while the war in Ukraine continues, days after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reversed the exclusion.
Canada says it will keep Russian players out of next month's World Juniors in Alberta, even though a sports court lifted the ban, Fox News reports.
The Canadian position. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday: "While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal and unjustified horrific war in Ukraine, as long as that's going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada. So, if you're asking specifically about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there." Hockey Canada thanked the government for what it called a "strong position" and said its board will meet this week to discuss next steps.
The ruling. Fox says the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Friday that Russian teams can compete in upcoming men's and women's world championships, overturning the International Ice Hockey Federation's exclusion. CAS cited a lack of sufficient evidence for the IIHF's security concerns. The World Juniors is the first tournament affected.
Other countries. Fox says Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia and Denmark issued statements backing a boycott of games against Russia while the war continues. Workwear company Strauss, a top sponsor of the 2027 world championship in Germany, said it would drop its logo exposure and is considering withdrawing if Russia's national team plays.
The reactions. Russia's sports minister, Mikhail Degtyarev, told state TV that "discrimination in hockey has been brought to an end." The IIHF said it was "deeply outraged," and Ukraine's hockey federation said safety and integrity "cannot be considered separately" from the war.
Background. Fox says Russia did not compete in Olympic hockey earlier this year, the first time since 2014, and was left out of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off.
What we could not check. We have not seen the CAS ruling. Hockey Canada has not said what it will do if the IIHF or CAS objects, and Fox does not say who has legal authority to bar a team from a tournament held on Canadian soil.