Athletistic/Hockey. Ostap Safin, a newcomer to the Lada hockey club, denied the information of the sports director of the Togliatti team, Rafik Yakubov, that he had renounced Czech citizenship and should have received a Russian passport. The attacker pointed out that he had a Russian passport for a long time.
“I always had a Russian passport, but the media invented that I just received it. This is nonsense. The same goes for the statement about my renunciation of Czech citizenship. I don’t understand where does such misinformation come from. I had dual nationality since childhood, and no cancellations have taken place.
The process of obtaining sports citizenship is only a formality. It was easy for me, because I already had dual nationality and a Russian passport. I was aware of the quotas of foreign players in the championship, and thanks to the presence of Russian sports citizenship, I had more chances to join the team. My nationality is not perceived as European.
As an athlete, I made my decisions based on hockey opportunities and I know that the level of hockey in Russia is high. I really came here for the hockey and unfortunately I can’t change other people’s opinions. I am sorry that I cannot play for the Czech national team, but it is a difficult subject, and the decision does not depend on me,” Idnes.cz quoted Safin as saying.
- Belov: “With such a composition, Lada will be able to compete for the KHL playoffs”
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I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
