Germany hopes to host world ice hockey championship — without Russia

Can Germany host ice hockey championship without Russia?

A government spokesman has said that, despite talks with the German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB), the International Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) and others, the impasse caused by last week's Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling remains.

Since the October 30 decision, several leading ice hockey nations — including Finland , Sweden and Czechia — have said they would refrain from playing against Russia in any tournament in which it is allowed to take part. Several key sponsors have also threatened to pull out, should the Russians be allowed to play.

The first tournament to be affected would be the Men's World Juniors, which opens in Canada in late December, followed by the IIHF's premier event, the Men's World Ice Championship, to be hosted by Germany in May.

Stefan Kornelius, the spokesman for Germany's government , told reporters in Berlin on Friday that talks held with various stakeholders had made clear that Russia's participation would render the hosting of the championship "practically impossible — both from a sporting and an economic perspective."

Kornelius said talks would continue and the government still hoped for a diplomatic solution that would allow Germany to host the championship — as planned — in Gelsenkirchen, Mannheim and Düsseldorf in May.

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