Signal & Brus

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If Russia is allowed to play in the Ice Hockey World Championship again, Sweden, Finland and Canada should refuse to take part. Not because Russia must stop waging war in order to play hockey, but because even war has rules. And those rules must be respected.

On 30 October, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, decided to overturn the International Ice Hockey Federation’s ban on Russian participation, including in the 2027 World Championship. The IIHF regrets the decision but says it will comply with the ruling. The major hockey nations therefore face a question more important than medals: What are we prepared to accept?

The War Itself Should Not Be the Red Line

I am not demanding that Russia must first cease to be a belligerent country. States can take part in wars and still be obliged to respect the laws of war. A country can be at war without deliberately attacking civilians, executing prisoners or removing children from their families and homeland.

That is where I want to draw the line. Russia must stop the abuses that violate international humanitarian law. Civilians and residential buildings must not be made targets. Prisoners of war must be protected, not murdered. Ukrainian children must not be unlawfully deported or forcibly transferred. A strike that hits a residential building is not automatically a war crime, but deliberate attacks on civilians are prohibited.

These are not merely allegations in a political debate. The UN’s human rights monitoring mission has documented attacks affecting civilians and serious abuses of prisoners of war during the conflict. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants in a case concerning suspected unlawful deportations and transfers of Ukrainian children. Such legal action is not the same as a conviction, but the allegations are serious.

We Should Not Lend Our Hockey to Propaganda

Russian hockey players are of course not personally responsible for everything their government does. But a national team also represents its country. When Russia is allowed to face Sweden, Finland and Canada on the world’s biggest hockey stages, the Russian state gains an opportunity to display international normality and use the prestige of sport in its propaganda.

We do not have to participate in that while the abuses continue.

Without Sweden, Finland and Canada, the Championship Loses Its Weight

We do not have to wait for the IIHF to solve this for us. The Swedish, Finnish and Canadian ice hockey federations should announce now that they will not take part in a World Championship in which Russia is admitted without respecting the laws of war. I hope other major hockey nations will join them.

A championship without several of the world’s best hockey nations could still be played. But how much would the title be worth?

Yes, a boycott would also hurt our players and supporters. That is regrettable. But a protest that costs nothing rarely carries much weight.

Welcome Back—When You Follow the Laws of War

Russia is a great hockey nation. I would be glad to see the country return to the World Championship and play against the world’s best. But the condition should be simple and clear: stop deliberately targeting civilians and their homes, stop executing prisoners of war and stop unlawfully removing Ukrainian children. Respect the laws of war.

That does not even require peace. It requires Russia to fulfil obligations that apply to every belligerent state.

Until then, Sweden, Finland and Canada should say no: No Ice Hockey World Championship with us if Russia is allowed to participate without ending the abuses.

Some things are more important than hockey.

The featured image was generated with AI.