MILAN (AP) — France’s players were not happy about defenseman Pierre Crinon getting suspended for the rest of the Olympics by the country’s hockey federation for fighting Canada’s Tom Wilson and his actions afterward.
“We are a big family: When we come together, we come as brothers, and we just got rid of one of our brothers, so it’s a joke from the French Committee Olympic,” goaltender Antoine Keller said Tuesday after France was eliminated with a 5-1 quarterfinal loss to Germany. “We need this player.
“We needed him today, and they just take it from us for something that just, like, happens every week in any hockey game, so I think that’s a joke.
The Fédération Française de Hockey sur Glace said the Crinon’s actions following the fight were against its values.
Fellow defenseman Hugo Gallet said he believes the decision was based on something Crinon did in another league. Crinon in the fall was suspended for seven games by his league in France for punching a goaltender.
“Honestly, it’s a little bit frustrating for our own federation to suspend him,” Gallet said. “I’m behind him. We needed him. He is a big part of our team and they took a really good player from us.”
Crinon and Wilson fought with seven minutes left in Canada’s 10-2 rout of France on Sunday. Unlike the NHL, where it is a 5-minute major penalty, fighting is a game misconduct under International Ice Hockey Federation rules, so Wilson and Crinon were ejected.
The IIHF was not punishing either player beyond the initial ejection.
“It surprised me a little bit, but it’s not really my decision,” Wilson said when asked about Crinon getting suspended. “Doesn’t really have much to do with me.”
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