The Cold War between the United States and Russia apparently is back on and taking stage in the hockey arena.
CBSSports.com reported Thursday that a Russian lawmaker has questioned U.S. motives behind the arrest of Semyon Varlamov, the Colorado Avalanche goaltender, on domestic violence-related charges in Denver on Wednesday.
Varlamov reportedly also is in line to become the starting goaltender for the Russian National Team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. That's what makes his arrest an "international incident."
Sports World Report earlier reported that according to NHL.com, police said that Varlamov was arrested on second-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault charges that involved someone the 25-year-old Russian goalie is personally intimate with. While the assault charge is just a misdemeanor, NHL.com reports that the kidnapping charge is a Class 4 felony under state statutes that is punishable by up to two to six years behind bars.
CBSSports.com cites a report from RSport, which quotes State Duma deputy Igor Ananskikh.
"I'm confident of Semyon's innocence," Ananskikh said. "I think it is sports and political move, as Varlamov is a candidate for the Russian national team. The main goal is to suspend him from training and games so that he loses practice and misses the Olympics," said Ananskikh, a member of Russia's most outspoken nationalist party, LDPR.
According to R-Sport, Ananskikh said the parliament's physical training and sports committee that he heads would do everything possible to follow and influence the situation, without going into any detail.
Also, Varlamov's father Alexander told R-Sport that he was sure his son had not committed any crime and that the issue would be resolved soon.
No word yet on whether Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have been alerted of the "tenuous" situation.
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