Russian athletes secured a return to international sports competitions under their flag and anthem at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, LSM reported.
That decision aligns with recent rulings from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which cleared Russian ice hockey teams of all age groups to rejoin world championships, according to LSM.
Sportacentrs.com reported that the three-judge panel that issued the hockey ruling was led by Giulio Palermo, who spoke at a conference in Moscow weeks prior. Palermo said that he paid for his own travel and that the trip occurred before his appointment to the panel, Sportacentrs.com reported.
Another panel member, Ismail Selim from Egypt, also attended a conference in Moscow hosted by a Russian law firm and the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, according to Sportacentrs.com.
Arbitrator resigns over conflict of interest
A Zurich-based CAS arbitrator submitted a resignation that the court confirmed, Sportacentrs.com reported. The arbitrator cited potential conflicts of interest and a lack of independence regarding Palermo, according to Sportacentrs.com.
The resigning arbitrator also works on the International Ice Hockey Federation legal committee, Sportacentrs.com reported. TVNET Sports reported that the IIHF announced on September 30 that CAS ordered the immediate reinstatement of Russian national teams for the 2027 tournaments.
The CAS panel faulted the IIHF for failing to provide sufficient evidence to support the legal conditions for the disqualification of Russian teams, according to Sportacentrs.com. Former Latvian Olympic Committee president and CAS arbitrator Žoržs Tikmers said that the initial IIHF ban was successfully challenged by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation because it contained legal flaws.
European federations reject matches
National ice hockey associations from Latvia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Czechia announced they would refuse to play against Russian teams in upcoming tournaments, according to TVNET Sports and Apollo.lv.
Latvian law prohibits national teams from playing against aggressor states, a rule underscored by Latvian Ice Hockey Federation secretary-general Roberts Pļāvējs, Sportacentrs.com reported. Meanwhile, the Canadian government said that visa access would be denied to Russian and Belarusian players for the upcoming world junior championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, TVNET Sports and Apollo.lv reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the resistance from European nations during a government meeting, stating that the decisions by CAS and the International Olympic Committee defend the Olympic Charter, TVNET Sports reported.
“Unfortunately, not all countries are ready to fulfill the obligations they once assumed, and they continue to apply not legitimate, but politicized restrictions against Russian sport,” Putin said.
Sponsors and organizers weigh exit
Several corporate sponsors of the world championship have withdrawn support or voiced opposition to the reinstatement, including Nokian Tyres, AJ Produkter, Tipsport, and Škoda Auto, TVNET Sports reported.
German tournament organizers indicated that Germany could decline to host the 2027 IIHF World Championship if Russian teams participate in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, according to TVNET Sports and Apollo.lv. The IIHF said that it is reviewing all available options and holding discussions with national federations to find a constructive solution, Apollo.lv reported.
“IIHF must act in accordance with existing regulations while fulfilling its responsibility to preserve international competitions and protect sport as a whole,” the federation said, according to Hokejs.
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