International Hockey: Luc Tardif wants Russia’s return “as soon as possible”

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Crédit: SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - 2023/12/17: Russia 25 national hockey team player, Nikita Grebenkin (77) seen in action during the Channel One Cup (ice hockey) between Russia 25 and Kazakhstan at the Ice Sports Palace. (Final score; Russia 25 5:2 Kazakhstan). (Photo by Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Since February 2022, there has been a missing important player in international hockey competitions: Russia.

The Russian nation, along with Belarus, has been subject to a suspension by the International Ice Hockey Federation since February 2022 for security reasons related to the invasion and war in Ukraine.

Since then, Russia has been suspended from all international hockey tournaments regardless of age or gender of the competitors.

This is particularly the case for the World Junior Championship, which ends today, as well as the Four Nations Cup, which starts in just over a month.

Earlier, when asked about the issue, the president of the IIHF, Luc Tardif, expressed hope for a quick return of the Russians to the international stage.

“We want [Russia] back as soon as possible, because that means the war is over.”

However, if we understand this statement correctly, the end of the war remains a sine qua non condition for lifting the suspension of Russia and Belarus.

While Tardif expresses some optimism regarding Russia’s return, it is mainly in the hope of a quick resolution to the conflict with the arrival of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, who has promised to end this war as early as the beginning of his term, as learned from this article by Joshua Clipperton published on msn.com.

On the other hand, I believe that many do not share this optimism, and it is possible that the suspension will last a while longer.

We can also question the relevance of such sanctions and whether we should punish hockey players for international events beyond their control.

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Even though the IIHF cites security reasons, there is also clearly a desire for political pressure, and I do not believe that sports and international competitions should be used for this reason.

But in short, this is a debate that largely exceeds the scope of this column.

Nevertheless, a decision regarding Russia for the year 2025 should soon be made, which is expected to be announced in February.

Additionally, the Olympic Committee will also have to decide the fate of Russian hockey players for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, which will see the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014.

This will be a story to follow in the coming months.

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