Winter Olympics 2022 - Ref gets whacked, players in mass brawl as men's ice hockey starts with a bang

ByThe Editorial Team

Updated 09/02/2022 at 14:09 GMT

Officials getting whacked by sticks and rammed into walls, and mass brawls breaking out in front of the goalmouth. Ice Hockey has truly arrived at the Beijing Winter Olympics with all the action we've come to expect from a sport famous for its more unhinged moments. There was plenty of drama in one match alone as the Russian Olympic Committee narrowly beat Switzerland on Wednesday.

Ice Hockey has lived up to its reputation in Beijing with big brawls and referees bashed into the barriers.

True to form, a huge brawl erupted in a fiery clash between Switzerland and the Russian Olympic Committee in the men's Ice Hockey.

Switzerland's Reto Berra was crammed into the net as 'goalmouth scramble' took on a new meaning, with Mirco Muller swinging for Dmitri Voronkov.

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Pure Olympics - Ice Hockey

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24/02/2022 at 17:19

But such brawls are normal in this sport, as commentators and fans remained calm as punches flew, with the referee merely calming the two sides down before play resumed.

In the same match, which Russia won 1-0, the referee was on the receiving end of a knock himself as he was accidentally rammed into the sideboards by Switzerland's Raphael Diaz, crushed between player and wall before slipping over.

"If there was a crowd in the arena there would have been a standing ovation," said commentator Richard Boprey.

'This is where it gets ugly!' - Huge brawl delays fiery ice hockey clash at Beijing 2022

"People love to see the refs get hit."

And the official took a battering in the women's Ice Hockey too when the USA took on Canada.

Amanda Kessel's stick caught the referee just above the mouth, forcing her to leave the rink and seek medical attention.

‘She is going to feel that’ – Official gets ‘sliced’ by hockey stick in USA-Canada match

It's not a sport for the faint of heart.

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