"Not the time for Russia to return" — Finnish politicians condemn sports court ruling
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled last week that Russian teams can return to ice hockey’s international tournaments.
Finnish politicians have strongly criticized the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) recent decision that permits Russian teams to rejoin international ice hockey tournaments. The sports minister of Finland, Mika Poutala, expressed that Russia's return to the sport is not welcome and shared a common sentiment with his Swedish counterpart, Jakob Forssmed.
Poutala emphasized that it is not yet the appropriate time for Russia to return to ice hockey or sports generally, particularly under its national colors. The decision overturns an exclusion imposed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The CAS ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the security concerns raised by the IIHF.
The IIHF maintains that its decisions were taken to protect the safety and security of all participants and maintain the integrity of its competitions. Finland is committed to adhering to CAS decisions, which implies that the Finnish national team will likely participate in the upcoming men's world championship tournament in Germany, where Ukraine is also eligible to compete.
Finland, currently the reigning world champions, could still choose to withdraw from the tournament, with the final decision resting with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Finnish politicians, including Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho, have voiced support for Finland's withdrawal from the event. Meanwhile, Finnish President Alexander Stubb disagreed with the CAS decision in an interview.
Written by urgent.news from Yle News Finland's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
