A Russian ice hockey coach blamed “petty bisexuals like the French, Germans, English, and the Balts” for Russia’s exclusion from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Russia has been banned from the games since 2022, when the International Olympic Committee imposed sanctions over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

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There was hope among Russian national hockey players that they could compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, slated for February, after rumors circulated earlier this year that Russian hockey officials were in talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation over a possible return of the team at the 2026 games.

A recent statement from the IOC quashed those reports.

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“The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place,” the committee said.

News of Russian hockey’s continued ban from the games inspired Russian professional hockey coach Vladimir Plyuschev to lash out at the IOC as “run by petty bisexuals like the French, Germans, English, and the Balts,” the Daily Mail reports. “So expecting any chance was pointless. And we shouldn’t expect anything from them.”

“This news was definitely expected,” the 70-year-old coach ranted, “because nothing will change there until something changes on our battlefields.”

“There’s no common sense there,” he said of the Olympics’ governing organization. “There are other countries that treat us loyally, positively, maybe even kindly. We need to work with them, not wait for someone to hand us something on a silver platter. 

“Sport is diplomacy, just a different form. Let our officials practice this diplomacy instead of drinking coffee in their offices and telling us how hard life is for them because they’re not allowed to compete in the Olympics.”

A small number of Russians competed as “neutral” athletes in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, after being vetted for any possible association with the Russian military or security agencies. The same accommodation will apply to Russian “neutrals” at the Milan-Cortina games.

“The Executive board will take the exact same approach that was done in Paris,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said at a press conference, according to Reuters. “Nothing has changed.”

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognizing Olympic councils in the Russian-occupied regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine.

“This recommendation was made after consultations with the International Federations concerned and the other Olympic Movement stakeholders,” the IOC said, confirming the continued ban on Russia from the Olympics.

“Annexation of regional sports organizations on the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine” constitutes “a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter,” the Olympic body said.

Four Russian figure skaters in men’s and women’s singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to compete in trials for the 2026 Winter Olympics as “neutral” athletes.

Russia won hockey gold at the 2018 games in South Korea and silver four years later in Beijing.

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will run from February 6-22.

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