Hockey season still without Russia and Belarus. But they can return straight to elite
The decision also affects other national teams of both countries on the international stage. Currently, the number of participants in the World Championship remains the same, so the elite group will again be played by 16 teams, but it is not clear what the developments will be regarding promotion and relegation. As things stand, the two worst teams in the elite group would be replaced by the top two teams from Group A of Division I. With the sanctions lifted, Russia and Belarus would replace the relegated teams and no one would advance from Group A of Division I.
"To be clear and transparent - this decision does not in any way suggest the return of the Russian and Belarusian teams to IIHF competitions. However, the congress needed to make this decision so that IIHF Members have clarity for the future on the conditions related to the reintegration of these countries into the IIHF programme. The IIHF Council will continue to monitor the development of the war in Ukraine," IIHF President Luc Tardif told the IIHF website.
Already at an extraordinary meeting at the end of February, the IIHF Executive Board suspended the participation of national teams and clubs from both countries in all events in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which Belarus is also involved. This decision is valid until further notice due to the ongoing war conflict, and it was already clear after the IIHF Congress during the World Championship in Finland in late May that the federation would not allow the national teams of Russia and Belarus back on the ice during the 2022/23 season.
"We believed that the situation would improve, so we waited as long as possible. But there was no change and we had to come to a clear conclusion before the next season. The exclusion of both teams was reflected from top to bottom in the whole structure. It's not easy, but there's not much we can do about it now other than wait to see how the situation develops," Tardif said back in May.
As the situation has not changed significantly since May, it was pretty obvious that Russia and Belarus would not return to IIHF competitions in the coming season. The question now is when this will actually happen and whether both national teams will be able to play at the 2024 World Championship, hosted by the Czech Republic.
"The earliest deadline for any decision regarding Russia and Belarus is the last group games at the next Senior Men's World Championship so that we can prepare the championship programme for the Annual Congress," the IIHF said in a statement on its website. The congress is scheduled to conclude the World Championships in Tampere on May 25-27, 2023.
