Russia protests IIHF decision as FIFA appeal is rejected

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced a protest of the International Ice Hockey Federation's decision to suspend Russia from international competition on Friday.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is contesting the decision made by the IIHF Council. More information: https://t.co/EYYLrvEGik #RussiaHockey pic.twitter.com/x2GYl3OP4l

Late last month, the IIHF announced that both Russian and Belarusian teams in every age category were suspended from competition until further notice following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Belarus's hosting of Russian troops.

Russia also lost the hosting rights to the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championships, which were originally set for Novosibirsk in Siberia.

“The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine,” IIHF president Luc Tardif said at the time. “We nevertheless have a duty of care to all of our members and participants and must therefore do all we can to ensure that we are able to operate our events in a safe environment for all teams taking part in the IIHF World Championship program.”

The protest comes on the heels of the Russian Football Union's appeal of its ban from FIFA competition being rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The ban means that Russia was pulled from its UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff against Poland with Poland automatically advancing to a match with the winner between Sweden and the Czech Republic with a Qatar 2022 spot on the line on Mar. 29.

Previously, Poland had announced plans to boycott the match with Russia.

"The challenged decision remains in force and all Russian teams and clubs continue to be suspended from participation in FIFA competitions," the CAS said in a statement.