An amateur player has been “indefinitely banned” by the Moscow Ice Hockey Federation after he launched a vicious attack on a referee during a recent match.
Infuriated by a penalty call against him, Nikolai Rizin was seen striking the referee with his stick before kicking him during a game between ‘Leopards’ and ‘Revol Ice’ in the ‘Labor Reserves’ league in the Russian capital on Saturday.
The referee was left writhing in agony on the ice and the incident caused the game to be abandoned before police were called to the scene.
On Monday, Moscow hockey officials confirmed that ‘Leopards’ player Rizin had been sanctioned by its disciplinary committee.
“According to the results of the meeting, it was decided to permanently remove Nikolai Rizin from all competitions held by the Moscow Ice Hockey Federation,” read a message shared by the TASS news agency.
Moscow hockey officials also said they would appeal to the Russian Hockey Federation to ensure that Rizin would be prevented from playing in all tournaments held under its auspices.
According to TASS, Rizin had already been handed a ban for a similar offense back in 2016, and had since played under a false name.
‘Leopards’ forfeited the game at the Chkalov Arena in Moscow as a result of Rizin’s attack.