Ice hockey player Tuomas Määttä will play in Russia next season as well

Tuomas Määttä is a familiar sight from the Finnish national team. PDO

The Russian club SKA-Neftjanik says on their websitethat Finnish ice ball player Tuomas Määtä has returned to the team.

Määttä, 25, also represented the club last season. He got into the middle of the commotion in March, when Määttä stood on the ice in a Z formation during the Russian national anthem. The Z-formation supports Vladimir Putin’s and Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

– I am very happy that Tuomas has joined the team. He has had a special training program in Finland. I know his professional attitude, so I’m sure he’s 100% ready. He is in excellent shape, which was evident in his first training session with the team, SKA-Neftjanik head coach Mikhail Pashkin said in the club’s press release.

– He will participate in the team’s training camp in Irkutsk.

SKA-Neftjanik plays its home match in Khabarovsk, which is located near the Chinese border. Määttä has been chosen four times as Finland’s hockey player of the year. He has also won four World Championship medals.

In March, Määtta commented Ilta-Sanom, that he didn’t know he was participating in a pro-war demonstration when he positioned himself in the Z formation. Määtta apologized for “causing a stir”.