Chris­tian Ofner nomi­nated for the World Cham­pi­onship again

“This nomination means a great deal to me. It is recognition of my performance at last year’s World Championship,” says Christian Ofner as he looks ahead to the highlight of the year. The 2026 World Championship will be held from 15 to 31 May in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. Austria will play their Group A games in Zurich, where they will face Great Britain, Hungary, Latvia, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and defending champions USA.

Ofner therefore expects to officiate in Fribourg, although confirmation will only be announced on site shortly before the start of the World Championship. Drawing on his experiences from 2025, the former defenceman is keen to impress as a referee again this year: “A first World Championship nomination can sometimes also involve a bit of luck. The fact that I am now allowed to go to the World Championship again shows that I was able to impress and can deliver my performance at this level too.”

His highlight at the 2025 World Championship was Kazakhstan’s decisive game to avoid relegation against Switzerland: “Kazakhstan needed a point and things looked good until shortly before the end of the game, when Switzerland scored the goal that made it 2:1. It was a close and intense game right to the end.”

In the coming weeks, the road to the 2026 World Championship will include various online meetings, at which expectations, regulations, organisation and much more will be discussed. Christian Ofner is also still fully involved in league action. He will then head to the World Championship on 12 May.

Gerhard Schiffauer, ÖEHV Referee in Chief: “Following the officiating of this year’s CHL final by professional referee Christoph Sternat, this is further proof of the quality of our game officials at international level. We are delighted for Christian, who has more than earned this nomination.”

NATIONAL TEAM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREPARATION OVERVIEW (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

08.04, 19:00 hrs, Riga (LAT): Latvia vs. Austria
09.04, 19:00 hrs, Riga (LAT): Latvia vs. Austria
16.04, 19:00 hrs, Feldkirch: Austria vs. Italy - >> order tickets now!
23.04, 19:00 hrs, Vienna: Austria vs. Czechia - >> order tickets now!
24.04, 17:30 hrs, Jihlava (CZE): Czechia vs. Austria
30.04, 19:00 hrs, Zell am See: Austria vs. Germany - >> order tickets now!
02.05, 17:00 hrs, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER): Germany vs. Austria
09.05, 16:20 hrs, Klagenfurt: Austria vs. Slovenia - >> order tickets now!

2026 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

15 May 2026 – 31 May 2026, Zurich and Fribourg (SUI)
Defending champions: USA
Group A, Zurich: USA, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Austria, Hungary, Great Britain
Group B, Fribourg: Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Slovakia, Norway, Slovenia, Italy

Fixture list
Great Britain vs Austria
Sat, 16 May 2026, 12:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs Hungary
Sun, 17 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Latvia vs Austria
Tue, 19 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs Switzerland
Wed, 20 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Austria vs Germany
Sat, 23 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

Finland vs Austria
Sun, 24 May 2026, 20:20, Swiss Life Arena

USA vs Austria
Tue, 26 May 2026, 16:20, Swiss Life Arena

Information on World Championship ticket sales at 2026.iihfworlds.com!
Link to World Championship tickets for Zurich and Fribourg (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to individual games featuring Austria - (Ticketcorner.ch)
Link to World Championship packages including Austria’s games - (Ticketcorner.ch)