Kasimir Kaskisuo, a former NHL goalie, has been suspended for five games by the Swedish Hockey League after he threw a water bottle at a referee, hitting him in the back of the head, during a game last week.
SHL team Leksands IF said that Kaskisuo was suspended five games and fined the equivalent of $2,271 following a league disciplinary board hearing. The board found that his actions violated the league’s rules of conduct.
The incident in question happened right after the final whistle of Leksands’ 3-2 overtime loss to HV71 on Thursday. Video of the incident showed Kaskisuo throwing the bottle in the direction of the ref out of frustration.
5 game suspension for Kaskisuo for this extremely accurate bottle throw pic.twitter.com/8v0YHybEis
— Robin on the Avs 🇺🇦 (@AvsRobin) March 3, 2023
“All forms of improper body contact against a referee or other official must be punished with game misconduct on the ice (Rule 40.1) and reported to the disciplinary board. The footage shows that Kasimir Kaskisuo picks up his water bottle after the final whistle and throws it at the referee, who is some distance away with his back to Kasimir Kaskisuo,” the Disciplinary Board said in its decision.
“The bottle also hits the referee’s head. Kaskisuo shall be punished for physical abuse of officials and shall lead to a suspension in accordance with the decision above. Kasimir Kaskisuo must also pay a fine in the amount stated in the decision.”
The Finnish goal said after the game that he was “embarrassed” by the incident.
“After an obvious too many men on the ice and/or offside in the same situation, I let in a poor goal in an important loss, and my emotions and frustration took over,” he said via ScoutingtheRefs.com. “As an athlete on the highest level, I should handle these things in another way. In this case, I didn’t and for that, I’m very sorry and feel embarrassed about it. I apologize to the referee, my teammates, the organization, and the fans.”
[Fox News]
