NHL star: Russia's participation in ice hockey worlds 'not up to us'

NHL star Alexander Ovechkin said he wants to represent Russia at the men's 2027 ice hockey world championships, but that a decision is not in his hands.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted Russia's appeal and ruled that the nation should be allowed to compete at the tournament. 

Russia was initially excluded from the competition by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on security grounds and in view of Moscow's was in Ukraine.

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

"You want to represent your country. Doesn't matter which - world championship, Olympic Games, European championships. You just want to go out there and play, represent their country," Ovechkin told reporters after his Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

"I'm pretty sure if you're going to ask the fans, the fans want to see the best players out there, and the fans want to see young generation players who are going to be future stars. But you know, it's not up to us."

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

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.

Ovechkin has been criticized in the past for his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In November 2017, he started a movement called PutinTeam in support of the nation's leader during the 2018 presidential election.

Last September, he received significant backlash for appearing in a political advertisement alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, among others.

According to media reports, protests took place ahead of Tuesday's match. Around 20 people waved Ukrainian flags and displayed signs reading "Ban Ovechkin" and "Putin, war criminal," The Athletic news portal said.