Russian teams remain barred from competing at Milan-Cortina Olympics next February

Karolos Grohmann · Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 27, 2025 10:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Russian teams, including the country's almighty hockey side, stay banned from competing astatine the Milano-Cortina Olympics adjacent February arsenic portion of sanctions imposed pursuing the Russian penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday.

The IOC was responding to reports retired of Russia that hockey officials from the state had held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation implicit Olympic participation.

"The IOC enforcement committee proposal from March 2023 with respect to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains successful place," the IOC said.

"It is based connected the information that, by definition, a radical of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot beryllium considered a team. We instrumentality enactment that the IIHF has confirmed that it volition travel this recommendation.

A tiny fig of idiosyncratic Russian and Belarusian athletes could instrumentality portion successful the Paris 2024 Olympics past summertime aft rigorous vetting by the IOC.

They competed without the Russian oregon Belarusian emblem and anthem. Instead they took portion arsenic neutral athletes. All Russian teams were banned. Belarus has acted arsenic a staging crushed for the invasion.

Four Russian fig skaters successful men's and women's singles were precocious approved by the International Skating Union to effort to suffice for the 2026 Winter Olympics arsenic neutral athletes.

Russian hockey players won golden astatine the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics successful South Korea and metallic 4 years aboriginal successful Beijing.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee successful October 2023 for recognizing determination Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

"This [October 2023] proposal was made aft consultations with the International Federations acrophobic and the different Olympic Movement stakeholders," the IOC said.

"This presumption reflects the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee due to the fact that of its annexation of determination sports organizations connected the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine."

"Such enactment constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter due to the fact that it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, arsenic recognized by the IOC successful accordance with the Olympic Charter," the Olympic assemblage said.

The Olympics successful Italy tally from February 6-22.