- Finland’s hockey federation says its national teams won’t play Russia while the war in Ukraine continues
- Chairman Heikki Hietanen says Finland is lining up the Nordics and Central European powers to join
- Read below for the forfeit risk, the Czech government’s stance and the sponsor pulling its logo
Finland says it won’t play Russia.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced Monday that its national teams will not take the ice against Russia in international tournaments as long as the war in Ukraine is ongoing. The stance comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that the IIHF must bring Russian teams back, starting with the World Juniors that open Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer.
Association spokesperson Henna Malmberg said Finland doesn’t believe it is alone. Latvia is reportedly on the same page, with Latvian media citing legal reasons for why its teams wouldn’t play Russia.
Chairman Heikki Hietanen laid out the plan in the federation’s statement.
“We are currently gathering as many countries as possible to form a common front to tell the IIHF that none of us will play against Russia in this situation.”
Hietanen told Finnish broadcaster Yle Urheilu that Finland has approached the other Nordic countries and the big hockey nations in Central Europe. If enough of them refuse to play Russia, he said, running the tournaments becomes impossible. He wouldn’t name which countries are on board, saying each federation is still working through the issue at the board level.
This is a shift from Friday, when Hietanen said Finland wouldn’t boycott the tournaments and would follow the CAS decision. He told Yle that was a description of the situation at that moment. Finland isn’t pulling out of events. It is refusing to face Russia, and the IIHF rulebook says a forfeit brings “supplementary discipline” applied “at their discretion.”
The IIHF board met Monday and continues talks Tuesday. The governing body hasn’t said what a Finnish refusal would mean.
Finland’s move lands one day after the city of Turku said it would give up the 2028 World Juniors if Russia plays. We covered that in our Turku hosting story:
The pushback goes well beyond Finland. Germany’s federation has said it can’t guarantee it will host next year’s men’s world championship because of added costs and security concerns tied to Russia’s return, and chief executive Frank Lutz is meeting political figures in Berlin this week. Finland’s sports minister, Mika Poutala, said he believes Russia won’t play in Germany next spring.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said after Monday’s cabinet meeting that there is no reason to allow Russian teams back while the war continues, according to Yle. The Czech government says its 2023 ban on visas for Russian national team members still stands, and the Czechs host the women’s under-18 worlds in January.
Not everyone is on that side. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he welcomes Russia’s return, asking what a gold medal is worth if you don’t have to beat the Russians to win it.
Swedish furniture company AJ Products, a men’s worlds sponsor since 1989, plans to ask that its logo not be shown at the tournament. CEO Enock Johansson told TV4 it’s “a decision we very much regret having to make, but we all agree it’s the right one.”
The IIHF said Friday it disagrees with the CAS ruling but will follow it. Here’s the full statement:
Our earlier coverage has more on the CAS ruling itself and the pushback from Hockey Canada.
