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One of the NHL’s biggest stars is taking a break. Russian forward Artemij Panarin is charged with assault, a few weeks after he showed his support for Alexei Navalny.
New York Rangers star Artemij Panarin won’t be playing ice hockey anytime soon. That message came from across the Atlantic on Monday.
The reason is the accusations against Panarin in his home country, Russia.
Former KHL manager Andrej Nazarov claims in the Russian media that Panarin abused an 18-year-old woman in a Riga bar in 2011. At the time, Nazarov was the coach of Vitjaz de Panarin.
Panarin has averaged more than one point per game in this year’s regular season, but is now on hiatus from the NHL. His Rangers club supports him.
Artemij emphatically denies all allegations in this fabricated story. This is a scary tactic after you’ve spoken out on political issues. He is agitated and worried and takes a break. We will help you identify the source of these unfounded allegations, “Rangers said in a statement.
The coach is a Putin supporter
The root of all this is said to be Panarin’s positions on social media. A few weeks ago, he provided the support of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
Navalny was recently arrested and sentenced to prison in Russia.
This is not the first time that Panarin has spoken out politically. He has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin on several occasions.
What makes the current case even more politically charged is the fact that Andrei Nazarov is a huge Putin supporter.
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