The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made the decision to ban Russian ice hockey teams from the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy, the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), Luc Tardif, told TASS on Monday. Last week, sports broadcaster ESPN reported that the IOC had confirmed that Russian teams will remain barred from the 2026 Winter Games. “For the Olympics – it’s an IOC decision,” Tardif replied when asked by a TASS correspondent whether the committee’s ruling regarding Russia’s hockey team was final. In February, the IIHF ruled to extend its sanctions and ban both Russian and Belarusian teams from participating in the federation’s 2025-2026 championship season. The IIHF, like many other international sports organizations, banned athletes from both nations at the IOC’s behest following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The committee later allowed certain Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under a neutral flag, provided they pass a vetting process to determine that they have not supported the Ukraine conflict. “The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place,” ESPN wrote last week, citing the IOC. “It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team.” Last week, the Russian Olympic Committee announced it intends to challenge the national hockey team’s ban. Moscow has repeatedly branded the IOC sanctions a perversion of the Olympic Charter, which is supposed to keep the Games free of political interference. The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in February, in the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.