Germany says hosting 2027 men's hockey worlds with Russia is 'practically impossible'

In brief

• The German government says hosting the 2027 men's ice hockey world championship in May would be practically impossible if Russia competes.
• The government cites threatened boycotts by several countries, including defending champion Finland.
• Officials want to explore negotiated options that could still allow the tournament to proceed.

Government position

The German government has described the hosting of the 2027 ice hockey world championship in May as practically impossible if Russia is allowed to compete. A government spokesman, Stefan Cornelius, said the position followed consultations with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) (Власти ФРГ: Проведение ЧМ-2027 по хоккею с РФ «фактически невозможно» – Charter 97). Cornelius said the government's aim is to stage the tournaments as planned, but that boycotts would make the event unworkable if Russia takes part.

Boycott threats

Several countries have already said they would not play against Russia at the tournament, and the government pointed to these threats as evidence that the wider hockey community is not prepared to accept Russian participation. The defending world champions, Finland, are among the countries cited as threatening a boycott. Cornelius described the sporting and economic consequences as serious.

Earlier signals

The possibility of Germany withdrawing from hosting was raised earlier by Frank Lutz, head of the German Ice Hockey Federation, who said the option needed to be considered (Власти ФРГ: Проведение ЧМ-2027 по хоккею с РФ «фактически невозможно» – Zerkalo).

What happens next

The government says it wants to explore, through negotiations, options that could still allow the tournament to go ahead. No decision on alternatives has been reported so far.