The IOC has decided to continue the sanctions against Russian and Belarusian teams.
According to Luc Tardif, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to prohibit Russian ice hockey teams from participating in the next Winter Olympics in Italy. TASS reported Tardif’s statement on Monday.
ESPN reported last week that the IOC had verified that Russian teams would remain excluded from the 2026 Winter Games.
When a TASS correspondent inquired about the finality of the committee’s decision regarding Russia’s hockey team, Tardif responded, “For the Olympics – it’s an IOC decision.”
In February, the IIHF decided to extend its sanctions, banning both Russian and Belarusian teams from participating in the federation’s 2025-2026 championship season.
Following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, the IIHF, like numerous other international sports organizations, prohibited athletes from both nations at the IOC’s request. The committee later permitted some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag, contingent upon passing a vetting procedure to ensure they had not expressed support for the Ukraine conflict.
“The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 regarding teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in effect,” ESPN wrote last week, quoting the IOC. “It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team.”
The Russian Olympic Committee stated last week that it plans to appeal the ban on the national hockey team.
Moscow has consistently described the IOC sanctions as a distortion of the Olympic Charter, which is intended to maintain the Games’ independence from political influence.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in February.
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