Wednesday, April 11, 2012 -
The wife of a hockey player in the Kazakhstan Hockey League (KHL) claims she has been forced to leave the country after publishing unflattering remarks about the country on her blog, a Canadian news agency reported on Wednesday.
Stacey Dallman, who is married to Barys defenseman Kevin Dallman, writes a popular blog called ‘Kaziland’, and says her Kazakh resident’s visa was withdrawn and she was asked to leave, the QMI news agency reported.
In a blog entry published in March, Dallman criticized the Kazakh government for failing to provide for its citizens.
“It just pains me when I see so much potential for a huge country with abundant natural resources who’s [sic] people don’t see a dime from their land being exploited and instead live in poverty and commanded denial,” she wrote.
“The money that should be used to develop the country is wasted away through corruption, lies, stealing, greed, and selfishness on every level, in every organization from government right down to small businesses to your everyday nanny or housekeeper.”
Both Dallmans are now in Canada, and it is unclear whether Dallman will be playing for Barys any longer.
Stacey Dallman, in a blog post published on Sunday, said that her husband’s contract with Barys was immediately terminated. He had three years remaining on the contract.
In other hockey news, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov ordered on Wednesday several government departments and agencies to establish hockey teams, as part of Turkmenistan’s Week of Health and Happiness.
Turkmenistan is a desert nation where temperatures can reach 120 degrees F.
The clubs will play on indoor skating rinks, financed by the Turkmen government from gas revenues.