IIHF extends ban to Russia, Belarus for 2025-26 season

Russia and Belarus remain banned from all international ice hockey competitions.

The IIHF announced Tuesday that it “believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate” the two countries for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

“As the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the current status quo until further notice,” the federation said in a statement.

Russia and Belarus have been banned from international hockey since the invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022.

“We want them back as soon as possible,” IIHF president Luc Tardiff said at the world junior championship in January. “It will mean the war will be over.

“(Russia) is missed for any competition. But let them come too early, that’s not going to be good.”

The IIHF says it will decide on Russia and Belarus’s status for the 2026-27 season by May of 2026.