France’s Pierre Crinon was suspended by the French Olympic ice hockey federation Monday for his fight with Canada’s Tom Wilson during Sunday’s group-play match.
Crinon, 30, is not allowed to play in the rest of the Olympic tournament. At 0-3, France likely has only one more game remaining in Milan Cortina with Tuesday’s qualification round matchup versus Germany.
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Canada had a 10-2 lead with 6:59 remaining when Crinon hit Canadian forward Nathan McKinnon up high. That prompted Wilson to retaliate against Crinon and the two tangled near the French goal. Crinon quickly forced Wilson to the ice face-first. But after the referee pulled the French defenseman off, Wilson went back at Crinon for some pushing and shoving.
(A wider view of the fight can be seen in this BlueSky post.)
Both players eventually received five-minute penalties for fighting and were ejected for game misconduct. Neither infraction resulted in an automatic suspension and shortly after the match, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that both Crinon and Wilson would be allowed by the International Ice Hockey Federation to play in their teams’ next games.
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The French Olympic ice hockey federation felt differently.
Citing “the values of every player wearing the French national team jersey, as well as their duty to set an example, particularly during the Olympic Games,” Crinon was no longer allowed to play in the remainder of the Milan Cortina tournament.
“Pierre Crinon’s provocative behavior upon leaving the ice, even though he had just been ejected from the game for fighting, constitutes a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport,” Hockey France said in a statement.
“Therefore, in full agreement with the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, the decision has been made not to authorize his participation in the upcoming game[s] of the Olympic tournament.”
As the statement mentioned, Crinon goaded the Canadian supporters in the crowd at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena while leaving the ice following his ejection.
France could advance to the qualification round with a win over Germany (1-2 in group play). If so, the French will face Slovakia in the next round. Regardless, Crinon will not be on the ice.
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Canada (3-0) will play either Czechia or Denmark at 10:40 a.m. ET Wednesday.
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