No Olympic Return Yet: Russian, Belarusian Teams Remain Suspended from IIHF Events

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) has commented on Russia's exclusion from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

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Hockey match

"IIHF, ROC, and RIHF will hold additional consultations on this matter during the summer. A final decision will be made later," the RIHF said in a st

Russian hockey players have not participated in international tournaments at the national team level since 2022. The IIHF has also suspended Belarusian players from competition.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) earlier decided at a congress in Stockholm that the Russian national team would not be allowed to take part in the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy. Team France will partake in the Games instead.

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The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year.