Germany's AfD and The Left in favour of Russia at ice hockey worlds

German far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and The Left have spoken in favour of the participation of Russia in the 2027 men's ice hockey championships in Germany.

"We consider this a return to normality. Of course, visas should also be granted to the Russian athletes," Jörn König, the AfD parliamentary group's sports policy spokesman, told the news portal ZDFheute.de.

König, who has condemned the Moscow's war in Ukraine, also pointed out that the United States are never excluded from international competition, even though the nation has waged "wars in violation of international law."

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) opted to continue to exclude Russian teams from competition on security grounds. But Russia appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ruled in the country's favour.

The backlash against the CAS decision has spread through sport, politics and business.

The Left believes the CAS ruling should be accepted. 

"We must no longer ignore this regrettable reality," said Christian Görke, the party's spokesman on sports policy. He pointed out that Russian athletes are now competing again in other sports.

A spokesperson for State Minister for Sport Ronald Rauhe told ZDFheute.de that Russia's participation would make hosting the world championships "virtually impossible for sporting and economic reasons." 

Germany initially threatened to give back the hosting rights for the tournament, but the country's ice hockey boss said on Sunday this is no longer an option.

"We want to hold the world championship in Germany next year, and I am also very optimistic that we will manage that," German Ice Hockey Federation (DEB) chief executive Frank Lutz told reporters.

However, participating nations, such as world champions Finland, have threatened to boycott the tournament in case Russia is allowed to participate.

Media reports say Russia is being persuaded to pull out after nations and also sponsors threatened a boycott.