Milan, Italy – A 44-year-old Slovak national was arrested Wednesday evening at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, after returning to Italy following 16 years on the run, according to a statement released by the Carabinieri police force.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, was apprehended while attempting to attend Slovakia’s opening match of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, a 4-1 victory over Finland. He had been subject to an arrest warrant issued by Italian prosecutors in 2010.
Police located the man after he checked into a guesthouse on the outskirts of Milan. He was subsequently taken into custody at the San Vittore prison, where he will serve a sentence of 11 months and seven days for a series of shop thefts committed in 2010, the Carabinieri stated.
The arrest occurred despite the man being on Italy’s wanted list, a fact that did not deter him from traveling to the country to support his national hockey team during the Winter Games. The timing of his return, coinciding with the Olympics, proved to be his undoing.
Slovakia’s men’s hockey team, led by Montreal Canadiens star Juraj Slafkovsky, is competing in Group B at the Milano Cortina Games. They are scheduled to play Italy on Friday, February 13th and Sweden on Saturday, February 15th.
The incident unfolded during the opening days of the Winter Olympics, which began on February 6th and are scheduled to conclude on February 22nd. The Games are being hosted across multiple venues in the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy.
As of Friday morning, Slovakia defeated Italy 3-2 in a preliminary round game, according to ESPN. The Slovakian fugitive was not present at the game, having been taken into custody the previous evening.
