Slovakia fan’s Olympic hockey trip ends in arrest over 16-year-old warrant

Hockey fans will go to great lengths to follow their favorite team and players around the world, especially when it comes to NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. 

For one Slovak fan, it led to his arrest. 

According to Reuters reports and a statement from the local Carabinieri police force, Italian law enforcement arrested a man planning to attend Slovakia’s opening 4-1 win against Finland on Wednesday evening, acting on a warrant issued 16 years earlier. 

Police zoned in on the wanted man after he checked into a guest house in the Milan suburbs, before taking him to the central San Vittore prison — not exactly the Santa Giulia Arena he had planned on attending. 

Now, he will have 11 months and seven days to serve for a series of shop thefts he committed in 2010, while Slovakia’s men’s hockey team will forge ahead without one fan in the arena. 

The Beijing 2022 bronze medalists, Slovakia pulled the surprise win on Finland in the opening game, backed by two goals from Montreal Canadiens superstar Juraj Slafkovský. The offensive output brought his Olympic total to nine goals in eight games, after he played a key role in the podium finish in China four years ago. 

As for Slovakia, they now look ahead without at least one fan, as they get set to meet Italy on Friday at 6:10am ET, before closing out preliminary stage play against Sweden on Saturday at the same time. 

Outside of hockey, Slovakia has not had too much to celebrate at Milan Cortina 2026, after the hopes of a medal from their women’s team alpine combined pairing fell short due to a missed gate from Katarina Srobova.

Slovakia’s biggest medal hopes at the Games remain an outside shot in men’s ice hockey, as well as Petra Vlhova’s efforts in the women’s giant slalom and slalom.