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IIHF releases official statement on Russia and Belarus

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Cooper Godin
February 28, 2022  (3:11 PM)
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The International Ice Hockey Federation announced on Monday that Belarus and Russia have been suspended in every age category and in all IIHF events/competitions until further notice.

Russia has also been stripped of hosting duties for the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship which is set to get underway on December 26th.

"The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine." said IIHF President Luc Tardif. "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.

"We were incredibly shocked to see the images that have come out of Ukraine." added Tardif. "I have been in close contact with members of the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine and we hope for all Ukrainians that this conflict can be resolved in a peaceful way and without the need for further violence."

Here are a list of events that Belarus and Russia are banned from:

- 2022 IIHF Continental Cup (4-6 March 2022): Belarus club team HK Gomel would not participate.

- 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship (21 April-01 May 2022): Russia and Belarus men's U18 teams would not participate.

- 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship (13-29 May 2022): ROC and Belarus men's national teams would not participate.

- 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 Women's Word Championship (Dates TBD): Russia women's U18 national team would not participate .

- 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship (Dates TBD): Russia men's U20 national teams would not participate.

- 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship (26 August-4 September 2022): ROC women's national team would not participate.