Ovechkin: Russian hockey players put aside and not allowed to play
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Alexander Ovechkin, forward and captain of the Washington Capitals in the NHL, expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that Russian hockey players were not allowed to participate in international competitions, although the sport, as declared, should be out of politics.
In an interview on the online platform KION in the show “Team”, Ovechkin said that he was offended by the fact that some athletes who dreamed of the Olympics could not perform at it. “We were just put aside and not allowed to play,” he said. “Although they say that sport is out of politics, it turned out that in fact the opposite is true.”
Ovechkin, according to him, is insulting “both for himself and for all the fans who are worried and want to see us at the Olympic Games.”
The situation is related to the recommendation of the IOC Executive Committee dated March 28, 2022, suggesting that international sports federations allow Russian athletes who did not support the CBO as neutral participants. The IOC also proposes to exclude athletes associated with the military or security agencies.
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in February 2022 announced the temporary suspension of the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international competitions due to the situation in Ukraine.
Ovechkin also noted that in 2018, an agreement between the NHL and the IOC regarding the participation of players in the Olympic Games did not take place. In his comments, he was critical of the motives for this decision, saying: “It’s all about money, they don’t give a damn about us.”
He added: “The main thing for them is to get their interest.” He explained: “We were told that we were guaranteed to go, but a month before the Olympics they announced that the agreement had not been reached.”
Ovechkin is a graduate of the Moscow “Dynamo”, has impressive achievements in hockey. He became a three-time world champion as part of the Russian national team, won the Gagarin Cup with Dynamo in 2013, and won the Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018. In December 2022, the player became the second sniper in NHL history to beat Gordie Howe.
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