Overview
- The IIHF Disciplinary Board annulled the Council’s January decision on May 25, finding the Council’s safety and risk reports did not provide sufficient grounds to keep a full-season ban and sending the case back for re-analysis.
- The IIHF said it will decide Russia’s participation on an event-by-event basis for 2026–27, so Russia is not automatically readmitted and each tournament will require separate safety, security and operational approvals.
- Belarus has been cleared to play in three lower-tier 2026–27 competitions — the Men’s U18 World Championship, the Women’s World Championship Division IV, and the Women’s U18 Division IIIB — after host and organizing-committee risk assessments.
- Several European federations, including Sweden, Finland and Czechia, plus national laws in places such as Latvia, have signaled refusal to face Belarus or Russia and Russian authorities say they will pursue legal appeals including possible CAS filings.
- Practical reintegration will likely start at junior levels and depend on host assurances and other nations’ willingness to play; the next major tests are the 2027 World Junior Championship and the 2027 senior Worlds in Germany, where organizers and federations must prove safe, operational plans.