Russian hockey player banned for vicious attack on referee (VIDEO)
A Russian ice hockey player has been banned after a sickening assault during a game that left a referee with multiple injuries and resulted in the player’s team being thrown out of the competition.
The attack took place during a local amateur league game between Armeyets (The Army Men) and Dorozhnik (The Road Pavers) in Ulan-Ude, the capital city of Buryatia in Siberia.
Referee Nikita Tikhonov called a 10-minute penalty on Armeyets player Sergey Petrov for fouling a Dorozhnik player who wasn’t in possession of the puck.
Petrov vehemently disagreed with the call and remonstrated with Tikhonov, threatening to hit him. The referee instructed him to go to the bench.
Petrov then violently lashed out at the referee, repeatedly striking him with his stick and punching him in the face. The ref’s helmet camera captured the entire assault.
Tikhonov somehow managed to avoid serious injury by covering his face with his hands.
He later told Championat.com that Petrov has since called him and apologized for the violent outburst.
That apology did nothing to lessen the player’s punishment, though. When officials met on Wednesday to discuss the incident, they banned him from the league and disqualified Armeyets from the competition.
Two of Petrov’s teammates were also suspended for five games.
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Armeyets have a history of bad behavior, having previously disqualified from the championship in 2009 and 2013.
