The Decision Stands

When it comes to international matters, there was a deep concern about the IIHF's political leanings. There was no denying that former IIHF President often looked the other way when it came to matters in Russia and its surrounding countries, often only reacting when tournaments the IIHF were threatened with disruptions or cancellations. Fasel's involvement with the IIHF may have affected decisions when it came to disciplinary matters, but, With Fasel out as President and Luc Tardif assuming the role, we've seen the IIHF adopt a more no-nonsense approach when it comes to handing down punishment, specifically in regards to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That continued this week as the IIHF once again sent a clear message to Russia and Belarus regarding their international hockey status.

As you likely know, both Russia and Belarus appealed the ruling that the IIHF handed down at the end of February that banned them from participating in and hosting any IIHF-sanctioned event until further notice. At the time of the ruling, IIHF President Luc Tardif made it clear that this decision was less about politics and more about having a safe environment for the teams and players who do participated in IIHF events. Having Russia and Belarus participate in or host IIHF events would make them unsafe.

"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."

Before we get too self-righteous, let's remember that sports is a microcosm of society, so Tardif can claim that there were no political leanings in the decision, but we all know that the IIHF member countries were pressuring the IIHF to do right in preventing the Russians and Belorussians from using sport as a distraction from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the support given to Russia by Belarus.

All that aside, the IIHF does still allow for an appeal process to be undertaken by those who feel that the IIHF made a mistake in a ruling, so the Russians and Belorussians were able to appeal the February 28 decision. On Tuesday, the IIHF came back with their decision, and it seems like Russia should have taken the punishment and kept its mouth shut.

Not only did the IIHF Disciplinary Board reject the appeals by both countries to participate in and host events once again, but the IIHF Disciplinary Board also tacked on some new disciplinary actions that hadn't been made in February. They include:

• not inviting Russian on-ice officials to IIHF events due to safety concerns for those officials.
• not inviting Russian committee members on IIHF committees to participate in decisions and recommendations due to the fact that their teams cannot participate in IIHF-sanctioned events.

With those two new additions to the current disciplinary actions handed down by the IIHF in February, Russian participation in hockey events at any level is essentially nil. Officially, Russia has no power nor influence on any IIHF decision in any matter moving forward.

I've been critical of IIHF's responses in the past on matters, but it seems as though the IIHF's disciplinary group is starting to get the message about having an opinion on human crises. Safety concerns for all hockey personnel can still be cited as the reason for the new sanctions handed down and the original sanctions being upheld, but any step backward in the appeal process would have looked monumentally bad for the IIHF.

By tacking on additional sanctions, the IIHF isn't playing politics as much as they're making a clear statement about how their leanings do not align with those from Russia and Belarus. Sports truly is a microcosm of society, and denying that would akin to missing the big picture on the international stage for the game.

It seems the IIHF is finally seeing the forest instead of the trees.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!