Athletistic / Hockey. The president of the French Hockey Federation, Pierre-Yves Gerbaud, explained the call-up to the national team of striker Stéphane Da Costa, despite his development in the Continental Hockey League.
“We discussed with the Minister of Sports and agreed that this was an exceptional situation. Stefan never supported the SVO (the wording was changed in accordance with the position of the Russian Federation. — Rating Athletistic) or the Russian authorities and lived in Russia for ten years – he settled there well before the start of the conflict. That’s why we made such an exception for him.
Stefan wanted to return to Europe, but he could not get a decent contract, because in Russia he is paid very well.
Do hockey players on Russian teams indirectly support Russian special operations through their participation? This is all controversial. One might think so if Da Costa had not been there before the conflict. If someone wants to give me a lecture on ethics and morality, then I will ask them a question: where were you all these last two years, when we evacuated the families of many players due to danger? We have proven our position: we do not speak, we act,” Gerbaud said in Dagens Nyheter.
Stefan Da Costa has played for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in recent seasons. Previously, the 34-year-old Frenchman played in Russia for CSKA Moscow, Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Source: Sport
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