Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Slovakia’s men’s hockey team started the Winter Olympics on the right note by pulling off a huge upset against Finland. Unfortunately, one man who was hoping to watch them compete in person was unable to attend the game after his decision to head to Italy led to him being arrested after 16 years on the run.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy are expected to attract around 2 million spectators, and a sizeable chunk of those fans are people who hail from other countries who decided to make the trek to cheer on the athletes supporting the one they’re from.
That included a sizeable contingent of hockey fans from Slovakia who were in attendance at Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Wednesday to watch their men’s team face off against Finland, the defending gold medalist who were listed at -475 favorites to walk away with a win in the first game of Group B play.
They got the chance to witness a very impressive (and unexpected) victory, but the same cannot be said for one guy who wanted to be there but found himself sitting in a jail cell instead.
A Slovakian man who spent 16 years on the run was arrested after returning to Italy to watch a hockey game at the Winter Olympics
Slovakia was not expected to be a contender for a medal in men’s ice hockey heading into the Winter Olympics. The country, which was one of four to earn a spot via the qualifying tournament, only boasts seven players who are currently members of an NHL team, and while it secured the bronze in Beijing in 2022, it appeared to be outmatched on paper in Italy.
The Slovaks also ended up in the same group as Finland and Sweden, who (along with the United States and Canada) were both top contenders to earn a spot in the four-team tournament that determines who ends up earning a medal.
However, things got a bit more interesting after Slovakia pulled off a pretty stunning 4-1 win over the Finns in a game where Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky netted a couple of goals and an assist and Wild prospect (and current AHL player) Samuel Hlavaj stood on his head while stopping 39 of the 40 shots he faced.
According to NBC News, an unidentified 44-year-old man from Slovakia arrived in Italy this week with plans to attend that showdown. However, there was one tiny problem: he’d been arrested for a shoplifting spree in 2010, and landed on the country’s wanted list after fleeing before he served out the 11 months and seven days remaining on the sentence he received.
The outlet reports police were alerted to his return before he was tracked down after checking into a guesthouse outside of Milan, and he was taken into custody and transferred to a prison in San Vittore shortly before the puck dropped at the game that had lured him back.
Ouch.