This scene from Swedish amateur hockey stirs up emotions

In the fifth Swedish ice hockey league, there was a strange scene in the match between HC Vita Hästen and Motalazu on Sunday: Vita player Casper Gilberg tried to check the referee in his own half of the match and sent him roughly into the boards. The referee was taken to hospital after the collision, where he was diagnosed with a broken arm.

After the match, Gilberg defended himself against claims that the check was intentional, stating that he had confused the referee with an opponent. Another explanation from the player makes his version of the story seem less than plausible. He complained to the media that “the referee was in the way of the entire match” and that it had to come to this at some point.

The coach finds clear words for Gilberg’s behavior: “We are going to talk to the player and ask how he interpreted the situation. But I see what everyone sees and it doesn’t look good,” he said after the match.

Although no sanctions have yet been imposed in Gilberg’s case, a similar case in Switzerland was punished with a gaming ban. On November 3, Dominik Kahun from Bern pushed the linesman aside in the match between SCB and Ajoie – deliberately, as the player himself has never denied.

The mild punishment, which caused surprise in some places, is due to a rule change that came into effect for the 2023/2024 season. In the past, fouls against the referee were not penalized at all or were punished with at least three game suspensions – Chris DiDomenico received three game suspensions last season for a similar infraction – but starting this season there may be only one or two game suspensions. imposed due to clashes with the referee.

Opinions differ on whether this rule change makes sense; there are fears that the referee’s protection could be weakened.

(cat)