A player for the Slovenia men’s national hockey team has been suspended for two games after he was seen kicking an opponent in the neck with his skate. It occurred on Saturday during the team’s match against Switzerland. You can see the incident below:
Hockey player kicks opponent in the neck and only gets a 2-game suspension
Switzerland’s Thomas Rufenacht was in a skirmish with Slovenia’s Robert Sabolic at the time. While that was going on, Sabolic’s teammate Ziga Jeglic was climbing the boards for a player change, and his leg extended to the point where his skate met Rufenacht’s neck. Rufenacht was looking for a penalty, but none was called.
It certainly looked like this was a deliberate kick, which the IIHF agreed, calling it “a very dangerous and reckless action that could have resulted in a serious injury.” But apparently it wasn’t dangerous or reckless enough to get a suspension that’s more than two games.
Jeglic already missed Sunday’s match against Canada, and will miss Tuesday’s match with Norway. He’ll be able to play again on Wednesday against Finland.
(h/t Yahoo Sports)
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