IIHF rules Russia, Belarus out of 2025-26 competitions
Published
The International Ice Hockey Federation council will continue to bar Russia and Belarus from its championships through the 2025-26 season.
The council stated it "believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate" the two countries due to safety concerns. A decision of the 2026-27 season will be made as latest in May of next year.
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston notes that a decision on Olympic participation by the two nations remains an IOC decision, but it appears unlikely the two countries will be at Milan 2026.
As a result of the IIHF council decision, Russia and Belarus are not eligible to play at the men's and women's world championships and U18s as well as the World Juniors.
The two countries have been banned from IIHF competition since February 2022 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.