German intelligence has reported the arrest of a couple suspected of espionage for the Russian Federation. This news was covered by BBC and The Sun.
According to the intelligence, the spies used comments on YouTube videos featuring Cristiano Ronaldo to send encrypted messages to Moscow.
In 2011, the couple created an account named "Aplenkuh1," supposedly for connecting with the Kremlin. The messages consisted of punctuation marks arranged in a specific sequence, which were then converted into a digital code only decipherable in the Kremlin.
One of these comments, "Ronaldo runs and plays like the devil," became part of the evidence leading to their arrest and a 6.5-year prison sentence. The couple was sentenced in July 2013, but were freed already in 2015.
Earlier, it was reported that Ronaldo did not travel with Al-Nassr to Iran for their AFC Champions League Round of 16 match against Esteghlal, in order to avoid a punishment of 99 lashes.
