Another country joins boycott against Russia at IIHF World Championships

UPDATE: Sweden has now joined Finland, Norway and Germany in their boycott against Russia at the IIHF World Championship.

Read below for our full report on this developing story.

The international hockey world is in turmoil right now, and it has nothing to do with on-ice play. A ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last week has set off a chain reaction across European hockey federations, and the fallout is growing by the day. What was supposed to be a straightforward build toward the 2027 IIHF World Championships in Germany has turned into one of the biggest political standoffs the sport has seen in years.

At the heart of it all is Russia. CAS ruled unanimously that the IIHF must reinstate Russian teams for the 2026-27 season, beginning with the World Juniors in Canada this December. Russia had been banned from international competition since 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. The IIHF had tried to keep the ban in place by citing security concerns, but CAS determined those concerns were not sufficiently proven. And just like that, Russia was back in.

Except not everyone is willing to accept that.

A growing coalition of refusal

Finland was the first to draw a line in the sand. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association declared that none of its national teams will take the ice against Russia as long as the war in Ukraine continues. Finnish federation president Heikki Hietanen made it clear that Finland was actively working to build a coalition, rallying other nations to present a united front against the IIHF's forced reinstatement of Russia.

Norway followed quickly, with the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association releasing a statement echoing the same position. Their reasoning went beyond politics, emphasizing the safety and wellbeing of players and staff. "We believe that playing Russia under the current circumstances could expose our players and team staff to significant security risks," the Norwegian federation said. It is worth noting that Norway took bronze at this year's World Championship, so this is not a minor team sitting on the sidelines.

Denmark also joined the growing list, and then Sweden made it official as well. The Swedish Ice Hockey Federation's board voted to refuse any matchups against Russia across all national team levels. That means Sweden's men's team, junior squads, women's teams, and U18 programs will all decline to play if Russia is the opponent. Swedish federation chairman Anders Larsson acknowledged that Sweden was not the first to announce its stance, but stressed that multiple nations had agreed to make their positions known together. Sweden's junior national team coach Magnus Hävelid was blunt about the decision, saying he would accept not playing even if it meant forfeiting a quarterfinal at the World Juniors.

Reports out of Latvia suggest that country may also refuse to face Russia, citing legal reasons. With at least one team in each group of the men's World Championship now pledging to boycott games against Russia, the tournament's structure is in serious jeopardy.

The ripple effects are enormous

The consequences of the CAS ruling extend well beyond individual matchups. Germany, which is set to host the men's World Championship in May 2027, is now openly questioning whether it can even go through with it. The German hockey federation has raised concerns about both the added costs and the security challenges that come with Russian participation. German federation CEO Frank H. Lutz was reportedly heading to Berlin for meetings with government officials to discuss the path forward. A German government spokesperson confirmed that potential consequences of the ruling, including the hosting situation, would be discussed promptly.

Sponsors are also pulling back. AJ Products, a Swedish furniture company that has been a men's World Championship sponsor since 1989, announced that it wants its logo removed from the tournament entirely. The company's CEO, Enock Johansson, told Swedish broadcaster TV4 that while it was a difficult decision, they felt it was the right one.

The junior tournaments are caught in the crossfire too. The Finnish city of Turku has said it will not co-host next year's World Juniors if Russia participates. The Czech Republic, which is scheduled to host the women's U18 World Championship in January, may bar Russian players from entering the country altogether. A spokesperson for Czech President Petr Pavel indicated he supports banning athletes competing under the Russian and Belarusian flags.

The IIHF has not yet publicly addressed what forfeit penalties might look like for nations that refuse to play Russia. The rulebook states that supplementary discipline can be applied at the discretion of the proper authorities, but with this many countries involved, any punitive action could backfire spectacularly.

This situation is far from resolved. With the World Juniors just weeks away and the men's World Championship on the horizon, the IIHF is facing a crisis that could fundamentally reshape how international hockey handles geopolitics. Whether more nations join the boycott or the federation finds some kind of compromise remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the sport is deeply divided, and the pressure is only mounting.