After some hope that there could be a team of Russian hockey players competing at the Winter Games in Italy next year, the International Olympic Committee has shot down any chance of that happening, leaving at least one former coach fuming.

Former Russian hockey coach Vladimir Plyuschev railed against the IOC, blaming “petty bisexuals” for his country’s continued exclusion from the Games.

Russia has been banned from the Olympics since 2022, when the IOC imposed sanctions against the nation over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

While a small number of individual athletes have been allowed to compete as neutrals, Russian teams have been banned.

However, there were reports that hockey officials held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation over a potential return, which wer

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