The key facts

  • The AfD and The Left parties called for admitting Russia to the 2027 World Championship and issuing visas to athletes
  • On October 30, CAS overturned the IIHF's decision to suspend Russia
  • Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia and Denmark refused to play matches against Russia at the 2027 World Championship

The position of the German opposition

Representatives of two German opposition parties — Alternative for Germany and The Left — have stated that the Russian national team should take part in the 2027 Ice Hockey World Championship, which will be held in Düsseldorf and Mannheim. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru citing ZDFheute. Jörn König, the AfD faction's expert on sports policy, called such admission a return to a normal state of affairs and stressed that Russian athletes should be issued visas.

Context: the CAS ruling and the federations' reaction

The dispute over Russia's admission erupted after the Court of Arbitration for Sport fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation on October 30 and overturned the International Ice Hockey Federation's decision to suspend the national team. The IIHF said it would urgently assess the steps and time needed to implement the ruling and address its operational consequences, while expressing dissatisfaction with the CAS verdict.

Boycott by six national teams and changes to the calendar

Following the court ruling, six national federations — Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia and Denmark — have refused to play matches against the Russian team at the 2027 World Championship in Germany, as ZDFheute also reports. Meanwhile, the IIHF has already adjusted the schedule of the 2027 World Junior Championship: Russia, which did not take part in previous tournaments, will take tenth place in the ranking of the upcoming tournament, replacing Norway in the schedule. Earlier, according to Gazeta.Ru, information emerged that the IIHF has asked Russia not to take part in the 2026 World Junior Championship.

What remains unclear

Thus, Russia's final participation in the 2027 World Championship remains undetermined: the court ruling in its favor is opposed by the IIHF's position and the boycott by six European federations, while the statements of the German opposition parties reflect only one side of Germany's domestic political debate — the sources do not present the position of the ruling coalition.