Former NHL star has to apologise to a legend, court rules

Peter Šťastný called the Slovak hockey legend Jozef Golonka a communist without any proof.

Peter Šťastný.Peter Šťastný. (Source: TASR - Gabriel Kuchta )

Not even a month had passed since the Winter Olympics in Turin in March 2006, when the head of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association at the time, Juraj Široký, dismissed the general manager of the national team and hockey legend, Peter Šťastný.

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The subsequent fight for the new head of the association between Široký and Šťastný ended in favour of Široký, who was also supported by another hockey legend, Jozef Golonka.

That’s when a personal dispute between Šťastný and Golonka began, which resulted in a lawsuit in 2013, the Sme daily writes.

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Ten years ago, then MEP Šťastný publicly said that Golonka was a communist and an eštebák (a member of the communist secret service), calling him a comrade. This happened during the filming of a television programme for the public broadcaster RTVS.

Golonka, 85, felt offended when he heard what Šťastný, 66, said on the ice-rink, and he decided to turn to the court.

The Supreme Court decided on the 10-year-long process on April 26.

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