IIHF bars Belarus from 2027 junior and men's world championships

In brief

• The IIHF has barred Belarusian national teams from the 2027 U20 and men's world championships.
• Belarus's federation disputes the decision and is considering a CAS appeal.
• Russian national teams are set to return after a CAS ruling, which the IIHF disagrees with.

IIHF decision on Belarus

The IIHF Council has ruled that Belarusian national teams will not take part in the 2027 world junior championship for players under 20 or the 2027 men's world championship (Білорусь має намір оскаржити своє виключення з чемпіонату світу з хокею – UNIAN) (Беларусь не допустили к ЧМ-2027 по хоккею, хотя Россию вернули — официальное заявление IIHF – NV) (Білорусь не допустили до дорослого та юніорського чемпіонатів світу-2027 з хокею – Suspilne) (Rada IIHF rozhodl: Bielorusi sa na MS juniorov ani mužov nevrátia. Účasť Ruska zostáva otázna – STVR). The Council said it weighed arrangements already approved for both events, including tournament structure, match schedules, ticket sales and operational planning (Федерация хоккея Беларуси намерена оспорить недопуск сборных к чемпионатам мира 2027 года – Reform.news) (IIHF подтвердила недопуск беларусских хоккеистов к чемпионатам мира 2027 года – Reform.news).

Disciplinary background

The IIHF Disciplinary Commission partly upheld an appeal by the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation against Council decisions of July 27, 2026. It did, however, find no legal grounds to order Belarus's immediate reinstatement. The federation says the commission also found that security considerations cited by the Council were not supported by sufficient evidence.

Belarus response

The Belarusian federation disagrees with the Council's ruling and is considering an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Belarusian sports officials have begun examining how to implement the decision, which the federation says is being weighed against the logistical and sporting difficulties it creates.

Russia and the CAS ruling

The IIHF continues to disagree with a CAS decision that restored membership for Russian national teams, beginning with the junior world championship in Canada around the turn of the year. The federation says it is taking steps to implement the Council's decision, weighing conditions to protect the events and its financial stability, and talking with the national federations concerned.

Reaction

The CAS ruling has drawn objections from several countries, and nine have publicly said they will boycott games against Russia. Whether the 2027 men's championship will proceed as planned remains an open question.