Czech ice hockey head Tomáš Král keeps post despite accusations of being StB collaborator

The Czech Ice Hockey Association (ČSLH) voted to keep chairman Tomáš Král in his despite evidence that he cooperated with the communist-era State Security service (StB). However, Král announced he will step down in June 2022.

Last week, the daily Sport reported that Král had collaborated with the StB when doing his compulsory military service. Among other things, he reportedly identified a soldier who “maintained contacts in capitalist countries”.

Král rejects the accusation, asserting that as an employee of the military’s administrative and legal department he never had anything to do with the civilian StB.

"As a soldier, I was with military counterintelligence and I make no secret of it… but the StB and military counterintelligence are two very different things,” he said on Monday.

According to Association statutes, a majority vote of two-thirds of the executive committee was required to remove him from office. Only one member voted to oust him.