IQN (NewsDesk): Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that Russian and Belarusian players will not be permitted to compete at December’s World Junior Hockey Championship in Alberta, despite a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling ordering Russia’s reinstatement to international hockey.
The tournament, scheduled to run from December 26 to January 5 in Edmonton and Red Deer, has excluded both countries since the International Ice Hockey Federation suspended them following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. CAS overturned that suspension on October 30, but Carney said Canada would maintain its own entry ban for as long as the war continues, regardless of the ruling. Several European hockey federations have said separately that they will refuse to play against Russian teams.
Hockey Canada, which is hosting the tournament, has echoed the government’s position, reiterating its earlier stance that it would not permit Russian or Belarusian participation in events on Canadian soil even where the IIHF’s jurisdiction doesn’t apply.
