Matti Huhtamäki interviewed by Finnish media of the CAS arbitral award against the IFF

Our partner Matti Huhtamäki was interviewed by Iltalehti, a leading Finnish tabloid newspaper, regarding the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) arbitral award 30 October 2026 concerning the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) Russia related decision from June 2026. In its award CAS found that IIHF’s decision prohibiting Russian teams from participating in IIHF competitions was unjustified because the IIHF’s arguments citing safety, security and other concerns regarding Russian participation were not supported by sufficient evidence. Hence, CAS ordered the IIHF to allow the participation of Russian teams in upcoming IIHF competitions, despite Russia’s ongoing illegal and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. In his comments Matti Huhtamäki analyzes the broader effects of the CAS award and offers possible solutions to further prohibit the participation of Russian teams in IIHF’s competition. Please see the articles here and here (in Finnish).