Ice hockey | Russia and the Ice Hockey World Cup: Shabby AfD, pathetic left

Will Russia soon be able to advertise world-class ice hockey again? Photo: imago/Kirill Kukhmar Anyone looking for the latest news about the 2027 Ice Hockey World Cup will not be able to avoid this headline since Tuesday: AfD and the Left are calling for Russia's return. In this case, populist nonsense from conservative circles who want to score political points with constant warnings about extremes and the associated egalitarianism on the right and left are not responsible. This time both parties have sidelined themselves, albeit with different reasons.

The tournament, which is scheduled to kick off in Germany next May, has been affecting sports and politics since the end of October. The trigger was a ruling by the International Court of Arbitration for Sports (Cas) that Russia had to be admitted. Of course, the devil lies in the details here too. But the argument of humanity should be more important than formal errors or legal maneuvers. This simple and correct idea has been followed by countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Latvia and the Czech Republic, which want to boycott possible World Cup games against Russia. Why? Because the war of aggression against Ukraine continues to be waged mercilessly. And that was ultimately the reason for Russia's exclusion from world sports.

In general, you can't expect anything good from the AfD. And so, despite the daily killing, this party sees a Russian right to compete as a "return to normality." How shabby! And how normal would a possible World Cup game between the national teams from Russia and Ukraine be?

Unfortunately, the left does not see enough reasons to vote against a major sports show by an imperialist warmonger. And the Left Party also presents a shockingly pitiful picture. Because she thinks that the Cas ruling should be accepted. Is the left actually bowing to the demands of an institution – contrary to its own stance? Or does she not have one? Doesn't she dare? In any case, she describes the entire topic as an “unfortunate reality” that one should no longer ignore. One should expect much more from the left.

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