Olympic tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov reacted to the accusations of Artemy Panarin, a player of the National Hockey League (NHL) club New York Rangers, of beating a girl. His words are quoted by “Soviet Sport”.
Kafelnikov called the appearance of the accusations a planned stuffing, and also wondered why information about the beating appeared only now. “I am confused by the fact that this whole story was opened today. I don't think it was accidental, ”said the former tennis player.
According to the ex-athlete, the accusations are a response to the civic position of the hockey player who openly criticizes the situation in Russia. “In order to spoil the reputation of a person who has different views and is very popular,” Kafelnikov emphasized. He urged Panarin to remain himself and be honest.
On February 23, the State Duma Deputy Speaker Igor Lebedev commented on the accusations against Panarin. He called this information “grandma's gossip and nonsense.” “There is no criminal case. There is no corpus delicti. This girl is not there either, ”added Lebedev.
The Rangers described the charges as an attempt to intimidate the hockey player. In addition, the Latvian journalist Aivis Kalnins contacted the hotel, in the bar of which Panarin allegedly attacked an 18-year-old visitor, and learned that there was no such incident.
On February 20, Panarin's former coach at Vityaz, Andrei Nazarov, accused the hockey player of beating a girl in an interview with Komsomolskaya Pravda. He said that it happened in one of the bars in Riga in 2011.
