Russian ski star gets yellow card for attack on opponent after crossing finish line (VIDEO)
The two biggest male stars of the FIS Nordic Ski Championships, which kicked off in Seefeld, Austria today, Sergei Ustiugov of Russia and Johannes Klaebo of Norway, didn't waste any time cranking their rivalry to the next level.
In the semi-finals of the Sprint competition Klaebo stepped on his opponent's skis while making one of the final turns of the race. The Norwegian proceeded to win the heat and, eventually, the world champion title, while Ustiugov lost the moment, finished fifth and dropped out of contention.
Устюгов набросился на Клебо, толкнул в плечо и пошлепал по щеке после инцидента на трассе 😱🥊 pic.twitter.com/DsAtZbYsoA
— Eurosport.ru (@Eurosport_RU) February 21, 2019
After the skiers crossed the finish line a frustrated Ustiugov, himself the double world champion-2017, approached Klaebo, triple Olympic champion-2018, and gave him quite a bit of a shove, then added what looked like a slap in the face, albeit a light one.
Ustiugov got a formal warning for his behavior; FIS will review the incident and, possibly, apply a harsher penalty on the Russian champion.
