International scandal erupts in Poland, where our hockey player was detained on charges of espionage. The athlete allegedly became the 14th member of the disclosed spy network. It looks like Poland has finally crossed the line of insanity.
«Caught a spy under the guise of an athlete» Shocking news came from Poland, where anti-Russian sentiments have been flaring up for a long time. This also applies to sports. Let us recall at least how the Poles categorically refused to play with the Russian national football team in the play-offs for the World Cup in Qatar. Then there was a story with a video with the participation of Barcelona players who thanked the Russian fans for their support. This video was not liked by the Polish striker of Barça Robert Lewandowski, who was outraged through the media.
Polish volleyball player Malvina Smarzek was severely harassed for her performances in Russia. The girl admitted that it got to the point that people literally «spit on her.» As a result, Smarzhek fell into a terrible depression. And these are far from all examples of the madness that has gripped Poland in connection with Russia.
However, what happened today finally crossed the line. Our hockey player was detained in Poland on suspicion of espionage, as announced on social networks by the Minister of Justice and the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Zbigniew Zebro.
“A spy was caught acting under the guise of an athlete,” the publication says. According to the law, the name of the suspect cannot be disclosed, as well as other 13 immigrants from Eastern Europe, who were detained on charges of collaborating with Russian intelligence and preparing sabotage. However, the publication i.pl reported that the hockey player's name is Maxim S., who plays in the first league of the national championship.
The Prosecutor General's Office stated that the Russian had been in Poland since October 2021, and they detained him in the territory of the Silesian Voivodeship. They assure him that he received remuneration for espionage activities on an ongoing basis. He has already been charged with participation in an organized criminal group and in the activities of foreign intelligence against the interests of Poland. Under local laws, this can lead to ten years in prison. So far, our compatriot has been detained for three months.
There is an alleged name of the hockey playerThe press service of the Minister Coordinator of the Polish Intelligence Services later confirmed that the detainee is a professional hockey player representing one of the clubs of the first league of the Polish championship. He allegedly performed tasks relating to the identification of critical infrastructure in several voivodeships.
Later, REN TV reported that the detained hockey player, presumably, is 20-year-old Maxim Sergeev, who played in Poland for the Zaglebie club. In Russia, he played for the Balashikha hockey club and the Resurrection Khimik. In 2021, he actually moved to Poland and started playing there since October. If you look at the full list of hockey players in the first Polish league, you can find a number of Russians there. These are Nikita Shatilov, Eduard Shibelbein, Vladimir Petrovsky, Ivan Ttsyryan, Fyodor Lupanov and Vladislav Gusev.
On the official website of the Polish Ice Hockey Union, you can find information that a native of Reutov Maxim Sergeev plays in the Zaglembe club. There is even a hockey player's license number — 4144/S. At the same time, such a hockey player is currently not in the official team of the club on the website. Zaglemba flatly refused to comment on this issue.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any information. I can’t provide information,” said the official representative of the club, Natalia Voznyak.
But the Russian Embassy reacted, sent a note to the Polish Foreign Ministry, in which it requested information about the detained hockey player, said a representative of the diplomatic mission. Obviously, the situation will develop. How it will all end, one can only guess.