# A sports court ordered Russia’s return to international hockey. Canada has other plans.

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/a-sports-court-ordered-russias-return-to-international-hockey-canada-has-other-plans/
- Published: 2026-11-12T20:39:43+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-12T21:35:26+00:00
- Original publisher: Meduza
- Original article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/11/12/a-sports-court-ordered-russia-s-return-to-international-hockey-canada-has-other-plans
- Topics: Americas, Europe, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Canada will not issue Russian players visas for the World Juniors.
- The IIHF had allocated Russia’s place to replace Norway.
- Russia’s participation in later tournaments remains uncertain.

## Summary

Canada has told the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) it will not issue visas to Russian players for the World Junior Championship, despite a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that Russia should be readmitted to international tournaments. The dispute puts the IIHF’s commitment to follow the ruling against resistance from host governments, hockey federations and sponsors.

The tournament is due to begin on 26 December in Edmonton and Red Deer. The IIHF had replaced Norway, the lowest-ranked team, with Russia, but Ottawa also rejected a plan to use Russian players based in North America, saying their work visas did not allow them to play for the national team. The IIHF could penalise Canada or strip it of hosting rights, though the article says it may instead proceed with Norway and argue that visas and short notice made relocation impossible. Russia’s prospects at later tournaments are also uncertain: Czechia has opposed its entry to the January women’s under-18 event, while its participation in events in the United States and Germany has yet to be settled.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.