Ice hockey-AJ Products cuts world championship sponsorship following Russia ruling

AJ Products, ​the Swedish furniture company that ​has sponsored the Ice Hockey ‌World Championship ​since 1989, will not sponsor next year's tournament after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided that Russia ‌could participate in it, the company said on Monday.

CAS ruled last week to allow Russia to compete in International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) events again, overturning the ruling ‌body's decision to exclude Russian teams from its competitions since Russia's invasion of ‌Ukraine in 2022. "We have taken the decision that AJ will not have its logo connected with the IIHF men's championships next year, now that Russia is allowed to compete again," AJ Products' ⁠chief ​executive officer David Bray ⁠told Reuters.

"We have had a long partnership with the IIHF for 37 years, so we made ⁠this decision after the court ruling on Friday. In a lot of businesses there are ​tough decisions, but this one was very easy to take." The 90th edition ⁠of the men's world championship will take place from May 13 to 30 in the German ⁠cities ​of Duesseldorf, Gelsenkirchen and Mannheim.

The IIHF was not immediately available for comment. Czech betting company Tipsport described the CAS decision as "scandalous" and said it would not ⁠run advertisements during any World Championship games involving Russia, a spokesperson told Reuters.

Tipsport said ⁠it would decide ⁠on further action once the IIHF and national federations clarify their positions on the issue. Reuters has contacted the CAS for comment.