“Israel allowed to compete?” “Was hoping to see Michkov”: Hockey fans react as Russia reportedly remains ineligible to participate in 2026 Olympics

Russia has been banned from participating in international hockey events since its invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022.

They've missed out on several IIHF World Championship tournaments, the World Juniors, the 4 Nations Face-Off, and now potentially the biggest stage of them all. Reports are suggesting that the Russians will remain ineligible to participate in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics.

The ruling was reportedly made at Friday's annual congress. The groups for the Milan Winter Games were then revealed by a Latvian news portal, and Russia was notably not included.

Hockey fans have started to react to Friday morning's news on X (formerly Twitter).

"Is Israel allowed to compete?" one fan wrote.

"Damn, was hoping to see Michkov in an international tournament at some point," another fan wrote.

"Sucks that all these players have to suffer because of their government," another fan added.

More fans have reacted to the news on X.

"Continuing to punish Russian players for something they have nothing to do with is ridiculous," one fan wrote on X.

"Kinda lame tbh. Would've loved to see Ovi and Geno lace them up for the final time in international competition," one fan added.

"Total BS. Sports should rise up in spite of political situations," added one last fan.

The FHR has since come out and said that they will hold additional consultations with the IIHF and ROC this summer, so a final decision has yet to be made. However, all signs do appear to be pointing towards them once again being left out on the international stage.

Alex Ovechkin and others expressed their displeasure with not being included in this year's 4 Nations Face-Off, so it's safe to assume they won't be happy with Friday's news.

Several of the world's best hockey players are Russian

While it's understandable why the IIHF continues to exclude Russia from its events, that doesn't make it any less disappointing for hockey fans.

They would have formed a very formidable roster if eligible to play in the Olympics. Nikita Kucherov (121 points), Artemi Panarin (89 points), Kirill Marchenko (74 points), and Alex Ovechkin (73 points) all finished among the top 40 in NHL point scoring this season.

Not to mention superstars Kirill Kaprizov and Evgeni Malkin, rising stars Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov, and arguably the four best goaltenders in the world in Igor Shesterkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Ilya Sorokin.

Unless the IIHF changes its mind in the coming months, there will be a plethora of talent that will be watching the Winter Olympics from home in February of 2026.