Ice hockey: Norway says it's been kicked out of World Juniors in favor of Russia

The wrangling over Russia's return to international ice hockey continues, with Norway saying it has been kicked out of the next major tournament — to accommodate Russia. Switzerland has joined a "boycott." With just weeks to go until the start of the 2027 World Junior Championship, it remains unclear who will be the 10th (of 10) participant.

This comes after the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (NIHF) said that the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) had informed it that it had been removed from the tournament so that Russia could take part. The move, which has yet to be publicly announced by the IIHF , comes in apparent response to last month's Court of Arbitration (CAS) ruling, which ordered it to allow Russia to return to international play.

The World Juniors is the first tournament affected by the CAS decision. The IIHF barred Russia and Belarus from international play shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.