The Russian national ice hockey team will not be allowed to participate in the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, confirmed the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), quoted by the dpa agency, BTA reported.
"The Organizing Committee demanded that we make a program without Russia", said the president of the hockey headquarters Luc Tardif on the last day of the World Championship in Stockholm (Sweden). Tardif added that the IIHF initially prepared a program with and without Russia.
"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the organizer, and we are responsible for the sports organization. "That's why we asked the IOC for a decision," Tardif explained, adding that the IOC would announce its decision soon. In April, the IIHF had already said that the Russian and Belarusian ice hockey teams would remain suspended from competitions organized by the governing body in the 2025/2026 season, but without mentioning Russia's war in Ukraine.