Following the arrest of Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, a Russian government official suggested the charges brought against him were "an effort to weaken" their national hockey team, Yahoo! News reported.
"The situation is really strange, given that the Sochi Olympics will take place soon and Varlamov is a candidate to become part of our national hockey team which we do count on. What about presumption of innocence? It's not normal at all. Varlamov will fall out of the training process which will have an impact on his readiness before the Olympics in Sochi. The first thing that comes to my mind is that it is an effort to weaken our national team," said Igor Ananskykh, head of the State Duma Committee for Physical Culture in Russia.
Varlamov, 25, was arrested Wednesday night on charges of kidnapping and third-degree assault after turning himself into authorities.
The victim, who is believed to be his girlfriend, claimed Varlamov was intoxicated when he abused her and added it was not the first time this happened.
Additionally, Varlamov's father, Alexander, claimed the charges were false and his son was innocent.
According to Radio Voice of Russia, he is likely to be invited to Russia's National Olypmic Team given his saves statistics (0.945) and took part in seven of the eight games the Avalanche has won this season. But now, sources close to the goalie are saying his reputation may damage his chances.
Sgt. Steve Warneke of the Denver police did not release many details about the case during a press conference. When asked if the goalie was getting special treatment for his status, he responded "I don't know what happens once they get to Denver Sheriff's, if they do any particulars for high profile, in regards to keeping them safe.
"I do know we consider every criminal prosecution equally important," Warneke added. "We're concerned about the rights of the victim, the rights of everybody involved. Our goal every time is to provide everybody with a fair and balanced opportunity to go through the judicial system without corrupting that through releasing things that could jeopardize any sort of criminal case."
The claims from Ananskykh and the elder Varlamov come after issues between U.S. and Russian authorities evolved regarding the Sochi Olympics, specifically in terms of Russia's anti-LGBT law.
The law, deemed by activists as anti-gay, has inspired boycotts of the 2014 winter olympics to be held in Russia from celebrities and athletes alike and even prompted legislators to take action.
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon announced in August that he would propose a bill to protect LGBT athletes and spectators during the olympics.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded and said the law should not be a problem to international athletes and spectators.
Putin said the recently established law, which bans "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors," imposes no "infringement on the rights of sexual minorities."
