Every year, Russian president Vladimir Putin gets snapped in weird poses for this annual calendar, and 2019’s was a real beaut.

Every year, he also takes part in an exhibition ice hockey match, banging in goals and lapping up the attention of everyone in attendance, who are clearly petrified of the iron-fisted ruler.

He scored eight back in 2015, and it’s reported that he bettered that tally by one in this past weekend’s match.

That’s a minor footnote, though, because the real story is how he ended up with egg on his face and took a faceplant.

You really have to feel for the players around him, with the New York Post reporting:

The leader had been waving proudly as he glided around the Bolshoi Ice Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday.

Video shows Putin, 66, then unknowingly skating onto red carpet at the edge of the rink, falling face-first as his skates came to an unexpected stop.

Two other hockey players appeared to have anticipated his fall and raced to catch him, to no avail. They looked nervous as they failed to stop the embarrassing presidential slip-up.

They couldn’t, and apparently, they haven’t been seen since. I joke, but it wouldn’t come as a huge shock.

Let’s watch Vlad go down:

I’d say the infamous groomsman faceplant from back in March was more dramatic, but that guy above routinely kills journalists and dissidents, so we’re giving him this round.

[source:nypost]