International Hockey Roundtable
KHL Team Angry Over Slovak Player's Departure; Threatens Legal Action
© George Walker IV-Imagn Images - KHL Team Angry Over Slovak Player's Departure; Threatens Legal ActionSlovak center Michal Krištof, 31, signed a contract to play in Switzerland for the SCL Tigers through the end of the current season, the National League club announced on Thursday.
However, KHL club HC Sochi objects to the deal, claiming that Krištof still has a valid contract with that team. Krištof has five points through 10 games with Sochi so far this season.
“Michal Krištof has expressed his clear dissatisfaction with the lack of playing time and his role on the ice during interviews with the club’s representatives in recent days,” began an official club statement, which appeared on Russian website Championat.com and was reported by Slovak website Šport.sk. “After the game on Oct 8, he also verbally announced that he had received an offer from one of the clubs in Switzerland (but) the player’s agent did not contact Sochi with an official request.”
The statement went on to detail attempts by club management and head coach Sergei Zubov to communicate with Krištof, which were rebuffed, and explained that he left the club without permission on Oct 15.
“The club does not accept the form of behavior on the part of the player and intends to act in the legal field in accordance with the standards of the KHL regulations,” the statement concludes.
That last part could be difficult, as the KHL withdrew from the Russian Ice Hockey Federation – and by extension the IIHF – in July and has no transfer agreement in place with any of Europe’s top leagues. The IIHF’s position on the matter is simple – they don’t recognize any KHL player contracts and they therefore consider Krištof’s deal with the SCL Tigers to be valid.
“The IIHF is no longer involved in KHL contracts,” IIHF president Luc Tardif was reportedly quoted in the same articles. “The KHL is no longer a member of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. Hockey Slovakia approved the transfer of Michal Krištof, so the IIHF also approved it in accordance with the international rules of IIHF transfers.”
The statement implies that no authority outside of Russia will enforce or even recognize a KHL contract and, therefore, a player is free to leave the league at any time, contract or not, and sign to play elsewhere without repercussion.
As mentioned, the KHL left the Russian Ice Hockey Federation in July.
“One of the goals of the development of sports in Russia is the depoliticization of international sports,” KHL president Alexei Morozov said at the time. “Many international federations prohibit Russian athletes and our national teams from participating in international competitions. After leaving the IIHF, we will be more independent in decision-making and promotion of our sport in the country and in the world.”
Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, relations have been frosty between the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the KHL on one side and the IIHF and most European national associations and leagues on the other. Russian and Belarusian national teams have been barred from participating in IIHF-sanctioned events and many European associations have taken the further step of barring their teams – national or club – from participating with Russian or Belarusian teams at any events.
Since 2022, most of the world’s top hockey nations have blocked KHL players – either formally or informally – from playing on their national teams. The Slovak Ice Hockey Association’s reversal of its policy prior to this summer’s Olympic qualifying tournament was controversial in Slovakia.
Despite being newly eligible, Krištof was not chosen to play for Slovakia at that tournament. He has represented Slovakia at four IIHF World Championships and at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal at the latter.
Related articles: