Sweden, Norway join hockey worlds boycott pledge over Russia - ESPN

DUSSELDORF, Germany — Hockey powers Sweden, Finland and Czechia will refuse to play against Russia at next year's world championship, as a growing boycott movement across Europe now includes six of the 16 nations in the men's tournament.

The rift in the sport deepened Tuesday as 11-time champion Sweden, Norway, Latvia and Denmark signed up to the boycott, and a top sponsor threatened to walk away, after Finland announced Monday it was rallying other nations to refuse to play Russia.

The Czech federation signed up too after initially saying it would wait for a board meeting next week. Austria told The Associated Press it is weighing up whether to join, and Germany is unsure of 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.

There was no immediate reaction from the IIHF to the boycotts.

The Swedish hockey federation said its board decided Tuesday that it would not play against Russia but would still play other world championship games. That was a turnaround from last week, after Sweden initially indicated a boycott was off the table after the CAS ruling Friday.

«The Three Crowns will not play Russia in coming world championship tournaments,» federation head Anders Larsson said in a statement, using the team's nickname.

The Swedish statement came shortly after Norway announced its boycott.

«Our position is that Russia should be excluded from all international championships as long as the war in Ukraine continues and remains unchanged,» the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association said in a statement. «At the same time, this decision is based on our