The French Ice Hockey Federation announced Monday that defender Pierre Crinon has been removed from the men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament following an altercation during France’s match against Canada.
The incident occurred with seven minutes remaining in France’s crushing 10-2 defeat on Sunday, when Crinon got into a physical confrontation with Canada’s Tom Wilson. Both athletes received two-minute roughing penalties plus 25-minute fighting penalties, as fighting is banned in Olympic competition.
Following the on-ice incident, Crinon was questioned by Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, who serves as the French Ice Hockey Federation president and deputy chef de mission for France’s Olympic delegation.
Although the International Ice Hockey Federation chose not to impose additional penalties on either player, French officials were particularly upset with Crinon’s conduct as he exited the rink after his ejection.
According to the French federation’s official statement: “The provocative behaviour of Pierre Crinon when he left the ice, even though he had just been excluded from the match for a fight, constitutes a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
The statement continued: “The decision was therefore taken, in full alignment with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, not to allow his participation in the next match/matches of the Olympic tournament.”
France concluded Group A play without earning any points and now faces Germany in Tuesday’s playoff round. The victor of that matchup will move on to face Slovakia in the quarterfinals.
Source: https://srnnews.com/olympics-ice-hockey-france-suspend-crinon-for-rest-of-games-after-canada-fight/
