CAS Ruling on Russia Raises Integrity Questions After Moscow Visit

A Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel chair who ruled to reinstate Russia in international ice hockey visited Moscow shortly before the decision, raising integrity concerns. The ruling, made October 30, pushes Norway out of the upcoming junior World Championship in Canada. Italian lawyer Giulio Palermo, who led the panel, attended an arbitration conference in Moscow on September 22, staying at the luxury Carlton hotel. He claims he paid for the trip himself and that it was unrelated to the hockey case, though CAS says it was unaware of the visit. Norwegian hockey expert Erik Follestad criticized the undisclosed trip on X, calling it suspicious. Fellow panel member Ismail Selim attended a similar Moscow conference in May 2025, organized by a Russian law firm. No evidence of influence has been found.