The terrible consequence of Russia’s return – will Ukraine be dropped from the World Cup?
According to the decision of the international sports arbitration court, Russia and Belarus should be reinstated in international ice hockey.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced that it disagrees with the decision, but will respect the ruling of the CAS nonetheless.
Thus, it seems that Russia could return to the men’s top-level World Championships next year, for example.
The IIHF froze the ranking points of Russia and Belarus when the suspension began, so these countries have still received points based on their previous success, even though they have not played.
Therefore, upon their return, Russia would be at the top of the IIHF ranking and Belarus in 18th place.
At the start of the suspension, Russia was a top-level country and as the number one in the ranking, it is expected to be reinstated to the top level unless a different decision is made. Belarus was set to be relegated in 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lower divisions were canceled, and it was set to continue at the top level in 2022 until it was shut out as a country enabling the war of aggression.
Belarus’s current ranking would not justify a top league position, but it had top league status before the suspension, so it is possible that it too could be reinstated to the World Championship top level.
The World Championships are played in the men’s top league format with 16 countries. The return of Russia and Belarus could mean that one or two countries would be relegated to the first division.
Ukraine down?
For next year, Ukraine and Kazakhstan have risen from the division level to the championships, with Ukraine’s ranking being lower than Kazakhstan’s. Ukraine would be returning to the top level after a 20-year break.
However, if Russia is reinstated, the first to be relegated is likely to be Ukraine, which placed behind Kazakhstan, the group winner in the first division last spring. If Belarus is also reinstated to the top league, Kazakhstan is likely to be the country that steps aside for the Belarusians.
However, Kazakhstan is ahead of Hungary in the IIHF ranking, so if league placement decisions are made according to the rankings, only Russia may return to the top league. Hungary has five ranking points more than Belarus, so in that case, Hungary and Kazakhstan would retain their league positions. Ukraine is also behind Belarus.
No decisions have been made on this matter at this stage, but the IIHF now has much to consider in how to resolve it. Ukraine’s league position is threatened in any case due to the CAS decision.
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