World : Thefts Disqualify Soviet Athletes

MOSCOW —  Ten Soviet hockey players have been disqualified for shoplifting videocassettes and clothes while abroad to play in matches, Soviet media reported today.

The Communist Party daily Pravda called the players’ behavior shameful and inexcusable. Moscow players A. Chistyakov and A. Barkov were criticized for failing to pay for videocassettes at a store in West Germany, the newspaper Sovietskaya Rossiya reported. Gorky hockey player S. Sorokin was disqualified for trying to shoplift either a coat or shirt at a store in a New York hotel. The newspaper said Sorokin couldn’t remember what it was he tried to steal.