Former Deputy General Manager of Admiral, now Director of AMC Fight Nights Kamil Gadjiev in an interview with , he said that foreign athletes began to take Russian passports en masse.
American hockey player from Dynamo Moscow Brennan Menell received a Russian passport and Russian sports citizenship, ceasing to be considered a foreign KHL player. Canadians Brendan Laipsik (SKA) and Cameron Lee (Amur) also applied for a Russian passport.
— Do you believe in the sincerity of foreigners when they take a Russian passport? Does fighter Jeff Monson like being Russian?
— I was recently criticized in the news field, even though I made basically harmless comments. They asked me: Monson wants to become president of the Russian MMA Union… I answered that someone who does not speak Russian well cannot be president of the Russian MMA Union.
I don’t think Jeff should be offended by this. This is simply a statement of fact. Nobody said anything bad about him. But such things make me smile a little. Roy Jones, Kevin Johnson, Jeff Monson – they didn’t become Russians at the height of their fame. But they are already very old and they took a Russian passport. And the Russians themselves, in principle, do not care whether Monson is our compatriot or not.
Well, let them be Russian. I just don’t have any euphoria about it. I don’t really care what I think, and neither do most people. It’s the same thing with hockey players. We understand that the same Dynamo’s Brennan Menell took a Russian passport in order to respect the limit imposed on foreign players. And to pay taxes in Russia, our taxes are lower than in America.
I will not criticize these people. I’m glad there are more Russians. But I wouldn’t tell myself this news. Well, it seems they are Russians. So ok.
—And then one of the legionnaires comes back to America and makes fun of Russia in podcasts.
– I heard about it, we laugh about it. What’s so good about it? Therefore, I think it is necessary to include a filter when issuing a Russian passport. Let them learn at least a little Russian language. Other countries require it. I think there is some kind of similar rule in Russia. But I’m not sure it works. And we know that the president of any hockey club is an authoritative person. He can call anywhere and solve the problem. I don’t blame anyone for anything. But the correct documents are issued quickly and painlessly.
There is obviously no point in generalizing. Mario Fernandez became Russian in football and scored a very important goal for the Russian national team at the World Cup. It is true that he did not score a very important penalty afterwards. But it was useful. He has been playing in Russia for many years. He assimilated, became native according to our perception, we consider him a Russian Brazilian. If the same thing happens in hockey and some Canadians play for Russian clubs for many years, why not?
And the most striking example is Korean Viktor Ahn, who not only won three medals for Russia at the Olympic Games in Sochi, but also did everything for the development of short track speed skating in our country. Can Canadians raise the overall level of Russian hockey? I don’t think so,” Gadzhiev told .
Watch Fonbet matches of the KHL championship on the channels of the Match holding company, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
