Canada Bars Russia and Belarus from World Juniors
Canada will bar ice hockey players from Russia and Belarus from the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, keeping both countries’ athletes out of the tournament scheduled to run from 26 December to 5 January. The decision applies to the junior competition in Canada and comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation’s ban on Russian participation.
Carney sets out Canada’s position
Carney said athletes from Russia and Belarus would not compete for their countries in international events staged in Canada while their governments continued to support the war in Ukraine. He specifically confirmed that Russian players would not be at the World Juniors; his broader statement included Belarusian athletes as well.
The decision concerns participation on behalf of the two countries, rather than a general change to the tournament schedule. The championships remain set for 26 December to 5 January. The stated condition is tied to the countries’ support for the invasion of Ukraine, and Carney said the exclusion would continue as long as that support persisted.
The arbitration ruling and IIHF response
Russia had been suspended from IIHF events since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned that ban last week, creating a dispute over Russia’s return to international competition. Canada’s announcement means that ruling will not result in Russian participation at the World Juniors held in Canada.
The IIHF said it disagreed with the decision and would closely monitor the situation and its implications for upcoming events. It also argued that the effects of the arbitration panel’s decision and the practical challenges it created for those involved had been underestimated. The federation’s response does not change Canada’s stated position on entry to the junior tournament.
Other federations oppose Russia’s return
Ukraine’s ice hockey federation expressed deep outrage at the prospect of Russia being allowed back into international events. The dispute over eligibility is also reaching beyond the junior competition: national federations in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic said they would refuse to play Russia at next year’s men’s Ice Hockey World Championship in Germany.
Those refusals concern a separate tournament and do not set the rules for the World Juniors. They do, however, show that the CAS ruling has not resolved the practical question of whether Russian teams can return to international hockey. The IIHF says it will follow developments and assess their implications for future events.
Russia criticises the decision
Oleg Stepanov, Russia’s ambassador to Canada, criticised Carney’s position, saying it was regrettable that politics was being brought into junior hockey, which he described as a sport intended to unite rather than divide. His response contests the rationale for the exclusion; it does not alter the Canadian government’s announcement.
The immediate consequence is clear for the championships scheduled from 26 December to 5 January: Russian and Belarusian players will not be allowed to represent their countries in Canada. The IIHF’s monitoring of the dispute, and the implications of the CAS decision for other upcoming events, remain unresolved.
Sources
- BBC — “World Junior Ice Hockey Championships: Canada bars Russia and Belarus from tournament – BBC Sport”
- sports.yahoo.com — “Canada bars Russia & Belarus from junior tournament – Yahoo Sports”
- aol.com — “Canada bars Russia & Belarus from junior tournament – AOL”
- theglobeandmail.com — “Russian teams won’t compete in Canadian-hosted events, including world juniors, Carney says – The Globe and Mail”
- kyivpost.com — “Canada Bars Russia From 2027 World Junior Hockey Championship”
