The Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced on Monday that its national teams will not take the ice against Russia in international tournaments for as long as the war in Ukraine continues.
The decision follows a ruling last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which determined that the International Ice Hockey Federation must reinstate Russian teams starting with the world junior championship, set to begin in late December in western Canada.
Finland is apparently not the only country weighing such a stance. Association spokesperson Henna Malmberg said the organization believes other nations share its interest in boycotting games against Russia. Latvian media reported that country's teams would also refuse to play Russia, citing legal reasons.
A message sent to the IIHF seeking comment and clarification on the consequences of a Finnish boycott was not immediately returned. According to the federation's rulebook, in the event of a forfeit, “supplementary discipline will be applied by the proper authorities at their discretion."
The fallout from the court ruling is also creating uncertainty around next year's men's world championship. Germany's national hockey federation is considering whether it can still serve as host, saying it cannot guarantee the event will go ahead because of additional costs tied to Russian participation. Security concerns have also been raised.
German federation chief executive Frank H. Lutz is travelling to Berlin this week for talks with political figures about the situation.
Sponsorship pressure is mounting as well. Swedish furniture company AJ Products, a men's world championship sponsor since 1989 whose logo appears on referees' uniforms and the boards, plans to ask that its branding not be displayed at the tournament because of Russia's reinstatement.
“It's a decision we very much regret having to make, but we all agree it's the right one," chief executive Enock Johansson told broadcaster TV4 on Monday.
Elsewhere, the Czech Republic is set to host the women's under-18 world championship in January. A spokesperson for Czech President Petr Pavel said last week that he supports banning “the participation of athletes under the Russian and Belarusian flags."
