Germany’s government conceded on Friday that staging the men’s ice hockey world championship next May looks untenable while Russia remains eligible to compete, yet it is not abandoning the effort to keep the tournament on home ice. A government spokesman said discussions with the German Ice Hockey Federation, the International Ice Hockey Federation and other parties have so far failed to break the deadlock created by a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling issued last week.
- Key Point: A German government spokesman said Russian participation would make hosting the May world championship “practically impossible” on sporting and economic grounds.
- Key Point: Finland, Sweden and Czechia have said they will not face Russia, and several sponsors have threatened to withdraw if Russian teams are allowed back.
- Key Point: Berlin still wants the tournament held as planned in Gelsenkirchen, Mannheim and Düsseldorf and says dialogue will continue.
- Key Point: The first event affected is the World Juniors in Canada, opening December 26, after which the men’s championship follows in May.
Berlin warns of sporting and financial fallout
Stefan Kornelius, speaking to reporters in Berlin, said the exchanges held with the various stakeholders had made one point clear: if Russia takes part, the championship cannot realistically go ahead. He framed the problem as twofold, covering both the competition itself and the commercial side of the event.
Even so, Kornelius indicated that the government has not given up on a negotiated way out that would let Germany stage the tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Mannheim and Düsseldorf as originally scheduled.
“Our goal must be to hold the tournaments as scheduled. However, given the boycotts that would follow Russia’s readmission, that would effectively be impossible. For this reason, we intend to explore—through dialogue—how we can still ensure the tournament takes place,” he said.
The pressure on the hosts has been building since the arbitration panel’s decision, which obliges the IIHF to let Russia back into international competition. Frank Lutz, who chairs the German federation, has already acknowledged that Germany might have to weigh stepping aside as host.
Visa question left open as war grinds on
Whether a Russian squad could even enter the country was raised at the same briefing. An interior ministry spokesman, Martin Giese, declined to give a definitive answer but suggested existing restrictions would make the process difficult.
“At a time when Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, there can be no ‘normalcy’—and we will certainly not pretend that there is,” Martin Giese said.
The refusal to rule out visas entirely leaves another unresolved strand in an already tangled dispute. It also signals that the obstacles to Russian participation extend beyond the rink and into immigration policy.
Canada has taken a firmer public line. Prime Minister Mark Carney ruled out Russian players appearing at the World Juniors in Alberta, tying the position directly to the war in Ukraine.
“While Russia and Belarus are supporting this illegal, unjustified war in Ukraine, as long as that’s going on, there will be none of those athletes competing for their countries in Canada,” he said.
“So, if you’re asking specifically about the World Juniors, the Russians will not be there.”
No consensus as clock runs down
Russian President Vladimir Putin has entered the argument as well, charging that nations resisting his country’s return are infringing on the rights of its athletes.
The IIHF Council had set aside Monday and Tuesday for talks aimed at agreeing a response to the arbitration ruling, then added a third day on Thursday. By Friday, according to the German government’s account, the members were still short of a common position.
Time is not on the federation’s side. The World Juniors in Alberta begin on December 26, making the Canadian tournament the first test of how the ruling is applied in practice. The women’s world championship, which opened in Denmark and is unaffected by the arbitration decision, is proceeding separately.
The arbitration body has publicly defended its ruling on reinstating Russia, underscoring that the legal position is unlikely to shift on appeal or through further argument among federations. That leaves the political track — talks among governments, national federations and the IIHF — as the main route to a resolution.
For Germany, the coming weeks will determine whether a host nation can keep its tournament while a court-ordered return takes effect. The government’s stated preference is to find a formula through dialogue; the boycotts threatened by Finland, Sweden and Czechia, along with sponsors’ warnings, suggest that any such formula must satisfy teams and backers who have already drawn their own red lines. If none emerges, the May championship faces the prospect of losing its host, its entrants or both.