Challenge Cup Stolen from Novgorod Tennis Players

In Veliky Novgorod on June 7, during a tennis tournament on the court in the Kremlin Park, the trophy itself, for which fans of this sport were fighting, disappeared. In other words, the cup that was being played for. The Parks of Veliky Novgorod stated that since then the location of the trophy is unknown, as are the motives of the thief. The organizers of the tournament, of course, filed a statement with the police. But they hope that the thief regrets what he did and is ready to return the cup. The cup itself is of little value, but the award has nameplates with the names of all the winners of the tournament since 2009 attached to it - very valuable information for athletes and a form of recognition. They ask for possible witnesses to respond. Any information can be left in private messages in the Parks of Veliky Novgorod group. Anonymity is guaranteed. By the way, if the kidnapper is reading this, the cup can be brought and left at the address: Meretskova-Volosova Street, Building 4.

Let us add that the history of world sports knows of a similar incident with the main football trophy - the Jules Rimet Cup, which since 1930 has been awarded to the winner of the World Cup. It was also a challenge cup. Only made of gilded silver and lapis lazuli.

On March 20, 1966, four months before the World Cup in England, the trophy was stolen during its public display at a London exhibition hall. A week after its disappearance, the trophy, wrapped in newspaper, was found by a dog named Pickles in a park in south London.

However, on December 19, 1983, the statuette was stolen again, this happened while it was at the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation. The trophy was taken from a specially made steel cabinet with a bulletproof glass front. The glass was framed by a wooden strip, which the thieves took advantage of, breaking it with a small crowbar. After that theft, the Jules Rimet Cup was never returned. According to some reports, the theft was committed by a gang of four people - Sergio Pereira, Antonio Setta, a certain Hernandez and Francisco Ribeiro (a former policeman). They allegedly melted down and sold the remains of the cup in Argentina. The police found all four guilty of the theft in absentia. In November 2003, Brazil's Globo reported Pereira's death from a heart attack: by that time, Setta (in 1985) and Ribeira (in 1989) had died violently, and Hernandez, who had served a year in prison for stealing the cup, was later convicted of drug trafficking.

Photo by MAU "Parks of Veliky Novgorod"