Quote:
Originally Posted by PugnaciousIntern
I get how a neutral solo athlete can compete - but who runs the neutral teams?
Can there be multiple neutral hockey teams?
Can non-Russian players play for a 'mostly Russian' neutral team?
Does the vacancy of removing the Russian hockey team automatically get filled by the neutral team, or does a team that was closest to making the IIHF qualifying teams (Belarus/Latvia/France) suddenly get entered into their place?
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The IIHF makes that call. And there is precedence. The Commonwealth of Independent States was allowed to compete in 1992, despite having broken up into several independent nations at that point.
Not sure what the IIHF does with this though. Especially this close to the games. Their best option is probably to promote the highest ranked non-qualifier, but we did see that story of Russian officials planning "neutral" uniforms, etc. I suspect it might depend on whether or not the KHL tries to ban non-Russians from going.