Semyon Varlamov’s accuser speaks on social media; Russians concerned about Olympic gig
The victim of Semyon Varlamov’s alleged domestic violence, for he was arrested and charged with second-degree kidnapping and third-degree assault, is a model from Samara, Varlamov’s home town. Her name is Evgeniya Vavrinyuk.
Earlier on Thursday, she posted comments about the incident on V Kontakre Russian social media site (her account is now deleted), where she said:
“If a man raised his hand, he will do it again. And none of his persuasion and promises should dissuade women. Leave these men, and don’t feel sorry for them! Giving men a last chance means to sign yourself a conviction for a repeat.”
According to the information shared by Sportbox.ru’s sources, Semyon Varlamov had an argument with Evgeniya Varvinyuk, who came over to him in the US. Varlamov and his girlfriend had broken up before, but not long ago they were living together again. According to the source, on Tuesday after another argument, the goaltender put her and her belongings out of the door.
All of “Varlamov’s acquaintances” talked to by Sportbox denied that Varlamov was drunk.
In the meantime, Varlamov’s father Alexander spoke with Samara’s ProGorod saying he was not going to fly to the US. “No, I am in Samara. I don’t plan on flying anywhere. I think that everything will be OK with Semyon. The situation is not as bad as it is reported. He is not facing any serious problems," he said.
A few hours before the alleged incident, Varlamov posted a picture from a Halloween party he attended. (As seen above.)
Russian Hockey Federation has expressed concerns, with the executive director Valery Fesyuk saying:
“This is an unpleasant situation. We can only hope that everything is resolved positively… It would have been better not to have these types on news at all with less than one hundred days before the start of the (Sochi) Games, to the success of which we are investing all our resources.”
Others, like the Head of the Russian Duma [Parliament] Committee on Physical Culture Igor Ananskikh, believe it was a conspiracy.
“I think this is a sports-political move, considering that Varlamov is an Olympic Team candidate. In my opinion, the main goal is to keep him away from training, from games, so that he would lose game shape and, God forbid, miss the Olympics.”
(No comments.)
An interesting twist to this is that domestic violence is a deportable offense, under Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Moreover, certain convictions for kidnapping are classified as “aggravated felonies” under Section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Therefore, if Varlamov is convicted of either, he may potentially be placed into removal proceedings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
My analysis, as a lawyer: I don't think he will be convicted or deported, because there would be a deal before it reaches that point. But I do think there's the potential for a civil lawsuit, and the arrest is a preamble to that suit.
