Russia threatens compensation claim as Canada bars its juniors from world hockey championship

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is insisting that the World Junior Championship, due to take place in Canada next month, be postponed or cancelled after Ottawa decided not to allow the Russian team to take part in the tournament.

As the official Russian news agency TASS reported on Thursday, the president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Vladislav Tretiak, threatened to demand compensation from Canada and possibly also from Germany, which will host the men's World Championship in 2027, if Russia is barred from participation.

Speaking at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow, Tretiak said he had also appealed to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) ethics committee to open an investigation and impose sanctions on national federations that are organising boycotts of games involving Russia.

'There are rules: if a team does not take to the ice, it suffers a technical defeat and sanctions are imposed,' TASS quoted Tretiak as saying. 'The IIHF has a way out - either they let us play, or, if we are unable to enter Canada, they move the championship, do not stage it at all, or impose sanctions on the Canadian ice hockey association.'

Tretiak's statement came a day after Canada confirmed that Russian players would not be allowed to compete in the 10-nation tournament, which is due to begin on 26 December in the province of Alberta.

Canada adopted this stance in response to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last month that restored Russia's right to take part in international ice hockey competitions. That decision overturned the ban the IIHF had imposed on Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

'You cannot bomb Ukrainian cities and then send your juniors to Alberta to play hockey, as if you were civilised people. No Russian or Belarusian teams at the World Junior Championship. Not under your flags. Not under any other flags. Period,' Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in an unequivocal statement.

As the Russian sports daily Sport-Express reported, Russia had from the outset expected that visas for the World Championship would be refused, so the Russian Ice Hockey Federation was planning to put together a squad made up solely of players from North American NHL clubs. However, Ottawa said that even these Russians would not be able to play for the national team in any case because their work visas do not allow it.

In addition, Germany and several other countries have refused to sign the new schedule for the World Junior Championship if Russia is included. The head of the German Ice Hockey Association, Frank Lutz, said this at a meeting of the Bundestag's sports committee.

The next tournament in the ice hockey calendar is the women's under-18 World Championship in Ostrava, Czechia, from 8 to 16 January 2027, but Prague has also made it clear in advance that it will not issue visas to Russian players.

For its part, Germany is considering dropping the men's World Championship in spring 2027 against the background of a wave of boycotts. Several of the world's leading ice hockey nations have said they will not play Russia after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Russia and Belarus should be readmitted to international ice hockey competitions.

Meanwhile, Germany's 'fringe' parties, the far-right Alternative for Germany and the far-left Die Linke, have called on Berlin not to obstruct the participation of the Russian team.

The International Ice Hockey Federation is so far refraining from commenting on the dispute, finding itself at the centre of a rapidly escalating conflict. A number of national federations, including those of Canada, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Czechia and Latvia, have already announced that they will not play matches against Russia. Some tournament sponsors have also threatened to end their cooperation if Russia is allowed to take part.

For the IIHF, moving the World Junior Championship at such a late stage would be extremely difficult; it would also be very hard to find another country willing to take over as host from Canada. On Sunday Norway said it had received notification from the IIHF that it was being excluded from the tournament, to make room for Russia. The federation itself has not yet announced this change.

Several northern countries are also tightening entry rules for Russian citizens. Finland is tightening restrictions on the entry of Russian citizens into the country. On 12 November 2026 the government adopted a decree stating that the entry of Russian citizens poses a threat to Finland's international relations. The new restrictions cover short-term work carried out on the basis of a visa, including professional sport.