This is the time a team of Russian spies playing ice hockey got into a fight with their opponents and then arrested the rivals when they lost.
A team-wide battle broke out between a team known as ‘Tough Guy’ and a team of players from the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Fights are common in ice hockey, but after this match, the FSB, which is the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB, reportedly ordered the arrest of opposition players.
Five of the players were immediately arrested and charged with “hooliganism”, a maximum penalty of seven years in prison, according to a Telegram channel.
The decision has proven controversial in Russia, dividing sports fans and supporters of the security services over whether the hockey players should have been detained.
The video shows a team battle between a team known as ‘Tough Guy’ and a team of players from the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Fights are common in ice hockey, but after this match, the FSB, which is the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB, reportedly ordered the arrest of opposition players.
In the fight, which took place in March in Far Eastern Russia, all 12 players engaged in fisticuffs and wrestling on the ice.
In the fight, which took place in March in Far East Russia, all 12 players engaged in punching and wrestling on the ice.
As an FSB attacker and the opposing defender fought each other on the ground, fights broke out between individuals while other Tough Guy players began throwing punches at the opposing team.
The ice rink where the game was played was filled with spectators who watched as the Tough Guys appeared to defeat the FSB team.
During the chaotic video, the referees were completely overwhelmed and were unable to stop the fights, even when they were knocked to the ground.
In professional ice hockey, fights are allowed, but referees stop them whenever a player falls to the ice for safety.
Throughout the video, the players are seen punching each other in the head even though their opponents are on the ground.
The players also did not remove their gloves before the bout, as would be common practice in professional ice hockey games.
Baza, a Telegram channel with close connections to Russian security services, shared the video and added that the Tough Guys team was also disqualified from the tournament.
Throughout the video, the players are seen punching each other in the head even though their opponents are on the ground.
Before coming to power, Putin served as an officer in the KGB, the predecessor of the FSB. In the photo: in uniform around 1980.
Vladimir Putin was appointed head of the FSB by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1998.
Two more Tough Guy players were detained last week and ordered to surrender their passports after a judge deemed them a “flight risk” ahead of their trial.
Newsbox24, a Russian news channel on Telegram, said the arrests were absurd after a “standard” ice hockey fight.
It said: “If you enter the court against an FSB or police team, should you also prepare to be imprisoned if you win?”
A comment on the Newsbox24 post said the FSB team had been “humiliated” and had acted like cowards by allegedly ordering his arrest.
However, Yulia Chepalova, a three-time Olympic cross-country skiing champion, said Tough Guy players should be ashamed for falling out with the FSB, but that criminal proceedings were taking retaliation too far.
The FSB continues to wield considerable power throughout Russia and occupies the former KGB headquarters on Lubyanka Square in central Moscow.
Vladimir Putin was appointed head of the organization by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1998.
As president, Putin increased the FSB’s powers to include combating foreign intelligence operations, combating organized crime and repressing Chechen separatists.
When former KGB officer Vladimir Putin became president of Russia in late 1999, he quickly installed his fellow former KGB members into all areas of Russian life.
Former KGB officers installed by Putin – known as the ‘siloviki’ (strong men) – continue to control many key government ministries, law enforcement agencies and state-owned enterprises.