Sports court overturns Russia's ice hockey ban, ruling it can return to world championships despite Ukraine's 'deep outrage'

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled unanimously on Friday that the IIHF had failed to back its ban with sufficient evidence of genuine security risks, ordering Russia's return to both the men's and women's world championships. The ruling takes immediate effect, with the men's world junior championship in Canada — which opens on 26 December — the first event affected. Ukraine's ice hockey federation called the decision "outrageous", warning that the threats behind the 2022 suspension have only grown more serious since Russia launched its invasion.

Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev declared on state television: 'Russia is returning to world hockey — discrimination has been brought to an end.'

The CAS panel left unresolved whether Russia must compete under a neutral flag, as it has done in other sports since 2022.

Russia's return is part of a wider sporting rehabilitation — swimming, judo and taekwondo have already readmitted it, and the IOC has opened the door to a Russian team at LA 2028.