MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RIHF) hopes that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) stays impartial in delivering a ruling on Russia’s appeal against the decision of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) that barred Russian national teams from the 2027 tournaments, RIHF President Vladislav Tretiak told TASS on Friday.

"The international federation, unfortunately, does not recognize the importance of Russia playing in international hockey," Tretiak, the three-time ice-hockey Olympic champion, noted.

"We expect positive outcome of the [CAS] hearings," he continued. "After all, the CAS is an unbiased body and we will come up with all arguments."

"They [CAS] are very ironclad and we are strictly following the Olympic Charter provisions as well as the charter of the international federation, we are not violating anything," he continued

"In theory, everything should be according to the rules, but there is no mention of safety rules pass in the stated regulations," Tretiak added.

On July 30, the IIHF announced a decision to extend Russia’s suspension from international tournaments until 2027.

According to the IIHF statement: "Following the IIHF Disciplinary Board Decision, the IIHF Council re-analyzed the Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s request that it be permitted to enter a Russian Team in each of the following IIHF Championships: IIHF Men’s World Championship 2027; IIHF Women’s World Championship 2027; IIHF World Junior Championship 2027; IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship 202; and IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship 2027."

In February 2022, the IIHF suspended Russia and Belarus from participation in international competitions over the developments in Ukraine.

The Russian national ice hockey teams were also barred from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy and IIHF President Luc Tardif told TASS in 2025 that the decision was made by the IOC and the IIHF had no say in this.

On July 30, the International Ice Hockey Federation announced a decision to extend Russia’s suspension from international tournaments until 2027. The IIHF stated that: "Following the IIHF Disciplinary Board Decision, the IIHF Council re-analyzed the Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s request that it be permitted to enter a Russian Team in each of the following IIHF Championships: IIHF Men’s World Championship 2027; IIHF Women’s World Championship 2027; IIHF World Junior Championship 2027; IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship 202; and IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship 2027."

In February 2022, the IIHF suspended Russia and Belarus from participation in international competitions over the developments in Ukraine.

The Russian national ice hockey teams were also barred from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy and IIHF President Luc Tardif told TASS in 2025 that the decision was made by the IOC and the IIHF had no say in this.