Star of the game Alexander Ovechkin: Russia's participation in the World Ice Hockey Championship is not our decision

Alexander Ovechkin, the star of the National Ice Hockey League, said that he wants to represent Russia in the world championship in 2027, noting at the same time that the decision is not in his hands.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) accepted Russia's appeal and ruled to allow it to participate in the World Ice Hockey Championship next year.

It is noteworthy that the International Ice Hockey Federation had previously excluded Russia from the competitions. This is for security reasons and in light of the war that Moscow is waging in Ukraine.

The CAS decision sparked angry reactions that extended to the sporting, political and economic circles.

Ovechkin told reporters, following his team’s victory, the Washington Capitals, over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday evening, local Canadian time: “You always want to represent your country; Whether it is in the World Championships, the Olympic Games, or the European Championships. All you want is to get on the field, play and represent your country.”

He added: “I am absolutely certain that if the fans were asked, they would say that they want to see the best players on the field, and they would also like to see the younger generation of players who will become future stars. But, as you know, it is not in our hands.”

Germany initially threatened to give up the right to host the World Championship, but the head of the German Ice Hockey Federation stated last Sunday that this option was no longer on the table.

On the other hand, participating countries, including Finland, the world champion, threatened to boycott the competition if Russia was allowed to participate.

Media reports indicate that there are efforts to persuade Russia to withdraw, after countries and sponsors threatened to boycott the competitions.

It is noteworthy that Ovechkin has been criticized in the past due to his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In November 2017, he launched an initiative called “Team Putin” to support the Russian leader during the 2018 presidential elections.

He also faced widespread criticism last September, after he appeared in a political advertisement alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and others.

News reports indicated that the French football club Paris Saint-Germain is planning to sign Gregor Koppel, the goalkeeper of the German team Borussia Dortmund.

This comes within the framework of Saint-Germain's efforts, the holder of the Champions League title in the last two seasons, to strengthen its ranks before the upcoming transfer periods, as the French capital team has already begun communicating with the Swiss international goalkeeper to discuss the possibility of his transfer to its ranks.

Saint-Germain is exploring the German market in search of first-class talent, with the aim of comprehensively strengthening the goalkeeping position.

In light of the continuing uncertainty surrounding Lucas Chevalier's future in the team, Saint-Germain found itself forced to identify alternative targets throughout Europe, as the club's sporting officials place securing a reliable goalkeeper as a top priority.

According to the German newspaper "Sport Bild", Saint-Germain is closely monitoring Dortmund's goalkeeper, Gregor Koppel, as the 28-year-old goalkeeper caught the attention of the Parisian administration thanks to his strong performance at the beginning of the current season, as he participated in nine matches in the German League (Bundesliga).

It seems that the Parisian club's interest goes beyond mere speculation or passing rumours, as sources indicate that the club's senior management has already taken concrete steps to study the financial and logistical aspects of completing this major deal, in a proactive step in preparation for the upcoming transfer periods.

It is reported that Saint-Germain representatives have conducted several rounds of negotiations with Coppell and his close team in recent weeks, as these initial contacts reflect the club’s seriousness in persuading the Swiss goalkeeper, who is highly regarded, to leave Germany and join the ranks of Spanish coach Luis Enrique’s team.

Since his arrival in the Ruhr region in 2021, Koppel has consistently proven that he is a top-class goalkeeper. After his successful transfer from Stuttgart, the Swiss goalkeeper has established himself as one of the most reliable and present goalkeepers in the German League, which caught the attention of scouts from major European clubs.

Despite the growing and clear interest on the part of Paris, obtaining Koppel's services may be a complicated process, as Borussia Dortmund shows its insistence on keeping its brilliant goalkeeper, and is working hard to ensure his continuation with the team in the long term.

Currently, the Parisian club must wait to find out whether the player will decide to extend his contract or will seek a new experience outside Germany.

Dortmund is currently in advanced negotiations with Coppell regarding extending his contract on lucrative financial terms, although his current contract actually extends until the summer of 2028.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham called on English football to establish a special compensation fund for former players who suffer from degenerative neurological diseases. At the forefront of which is dementia associated with recurrent brain injuries, calling on the game to assume its responsibility towards the players who contributed to building its popularity and their families who face severe health consequences.

Burnham said, in statements to the British newspaper “The Telegraph”, that “football is indebted to the players who gave so much to the game, and to their families who are living today with the consequences of that march,” stressing that those affected “should not have had to fight so hard for their voices to be heard.”

The Prime Minister's statements come at a time when controversy is escalating over what is known as the “silent dementia scandal” in football, after previous investigations revealed disagreements between the English Football Association and the families of former players regarding the recognition of the relationship between repeated head blows and “chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” a neurological disease associated with repeated exposure to brain trauma.

The calls for greater financial support were based on the suffering of the families of a number of former football stars, including Nobby Stiles and Gordon McQueen, whose deaths were concluded by two separate investigations that repeated head blows contributed to their deaths. The two players had suffered from the effects of “chronic traumatic encephalopathy” since their late fifties.

Burnham believes that compensation should take the form of a system similar to the Work Injury Compensation Fund, given that the players were not adequately protected, and did not receive the necessary information or support about potential health risks during their career.

He said: “When I look at what happened in the NFL, I find that they faced the problem and took more serious steps to help and support those affected. I don't see English football having done that yet. There is a huge number of players, especially from the generations of the sixties, seventies and eighties, who have suffered from dementia, and their stories and the stories of their families are painful.”

He added that the moves taken by English football so far are still limited, stressing that “the game has made huge amounts of money thanks to the players who belong to those generations, and therefore it must acknowledge its responsibility towards them.”

American football provides a model that Burnham cited, after a fund was established in 2013 to support affected former players and their families, and the payments it has provided so far have amounted to about $1.4 billion.

In contrast, a brain health fund funded by the Professional Players Association and the English Premier League provides about one million pounds sterling annually since 2023, but the aid is subject to an income test and works in parallel with the social care system, at a time when the costs of staying in care homes for injured players reach annual amounts that may exceed 100 thousand pounds sterling.

The numbers indicate the size of the gap between the available support and the financial capabilities of the game. The English football industry combined paid around £460 million to player agents last year alone.

John Styles, son of the England star who won the 1966 World Cup, Nobby Styles, welcomed the Prime Minister’s position, considering that it “represents important support for the families who fought a long battle to recognize the suffering of former players.” He said that the sector “should provide the best levels of care that these players need and deserve, instead of burdening taxpayers with the costs of treating victims of an industry that generates huge financial revenues.”

Dr. Judith Gates, wife of former Middlesbrough player Bill Gates, who died in 2023 after suffering from “chronic traumatic encephalopathy,” also expressed her satisfaction with Burnham’s statements, considering that players who contributed to building modern football deserve care and support in their final years.

In a development that reinforces concerns about the scope of the problem, new research conducted by Loughborough University has shown that the risk of developing dementia is not limited only to players who played football in the era of heavy leather balls. Studies have shown that modern synthetic balls may produce pressure waves that reach the brain with an equal or greater force than those produced by wet leather balls.

The research included tests for cognitive functions and advanced tests to detect dementia in more than 300 former players, and showed varying results between generations, with indications of increased risks recorded in some younger players who did not use leather balls during their career.

Measurements also revealed that the pressure waves resulting from head blows reached three times the levels that caused brain changes in military personnel exposed to explosions, while the maximum readings exceeded the “overexposure limits” approved by the US Army in training.

In a related context, former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister joined those calling for imposing legal restrictions on head strikes during training, based on his personal suffering from recurring migraine attacks during his career, which sometimes forced him to stay in a dark room for two days.

Pallister said that his suffering included vomiting, loss of the ability to speak, blurred vision, and numbness in the arms, adding that his personal experience made him convinced that the blows to the head had left an impact on his health.

Pallister is participating in a campaign led by the Head Save Football Foundation, which Gates founded, along with John Stiles and sportscaster Hayley McQueen, daughter of former defender Gordon McQueen, to demand tighter restrictions on head strikes in training.

The English Association had stopped head strikes in matches for age groups under 11 years, and set guidelines that set a ceiling of no more than 10 head strikes per week in amateur training, and 10 strong strikes for professional players. However, these recommendations are not subject to a mandatory implementation mechanism, amid fears that a large number of coaches and players do not know about them.

These developments place English football under increasing pressure to take more stringent measures, not only limited to protecting current and future generations from the risks of brain injuries, but also extending to bearing responsibility for former players who face health consequences that may last for decades.