Sweden, Norway, Finland and Czechia will refuse to play Russia at next year's world championship, as a growing boycott now includes six of the 16 nations. The rift deepened Tuesday as Sweden, Norway, Latvia and Denmark joined, while a top sponsor threatened to walk away after Finland announced it was rallying other nations to refuse to play Russia.
The Czech federation signed up too after waiting for a board meeting next week. Austria is weighing whether to join, and Germany is unsure about hosting the men's championship. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled last week that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russian teams, beginning with the world juniors starting next month in Canada.
The Swedish federation said its board decided Tuesday not to play against Russia but would still play other world championship games — a turnaround from last week, after Sweden initially considered a boycott off the table following the CAS ruling Friday. Head of the federation Anders Larsson said: "The Three Crowns will not play Russia in coming world championship tournaments."
Norway's association stated Russia should be excluded from all international championships as long as the war in Ukraine continues, citing safety risks to players. General secretary Petter Salsten told the AP that, in the case of the world juniors, Norway could be removed from the tournament to make way for Russia.
Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian Tyres said it will no longer sponsor the world championship if Russia takes part. Swedish furniture maker AJ Products, a tournament sponsor since 1989, said Monday it would ask its logo not to be shown if Russia plays. The boycott mirrors the 2022 soccer situation, when FIFA successfully argued at CAS for excluding Russia on grounds of irreparable harm to competition.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing