The IIHF's decision bars Russian national teams from participating in the 2026/27 season in the men's and women's world championships, the world youth championships, and the junior world championship for U-18 players. ^[1] The Russian Ice Hockey Federation (RHF) filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne against the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) decision to extend the suspension of Russian national teams. ^[2] Dmitry Svishchev, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sport, called on Evgeny Plushenko to explain the reasons for his son Alexander's transition to the Azerbaijan national team. ^[3] On May 21, it was announced that Evgeny Plushenko's son, Alexander, changed his sporting citizenship to compete for the Azerbaijan national team. ^[4] The IIHF will be obliged to allow Russian teams to participate in the World Championships if the CAS rules in favor of the Russian side. ^[5] The lawsuit was filed with the CAS on August 31 after the RHF and IIHF reached an agreement on all required conditions for such an arbitration. ^[6] Svishchev stated that the change of sporting citizenship by Plushenko's son was almost universally perceived negatively due to the lack of explanation for the decision. ^[7] Yana Rudkovskaia, the producer and wife of Evgeny Plushenko, stated that Plushenko did everything for Russia by winning four Olympic medals across four different Olympics. ^[8]