Andrei Deniskin receives three-game suspension for racist gesture

The Ukrainian Hockey League and I support Jalen Smerek and thank all the fans and journalists who supported him. The federation believes that there is no place for racism in our world other than in hockey, Writes Eugene Kolichev, quoting the disciplinary committee of the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation.

The decision has angered HC Donbass, a Smereck club.

$ 2390 for a racist gesture? Racist gestures against HC Donbass player Jolen Smereck […] We will appeal the decision, Wrote the Ukrainian club on Twitter.

Anger

Closer to home in a Montreal Canadians camp, those questioned on the matter also admitted to being fed up with the short suspension.

I expect it to be very tough, said Canadians head coach Dominic Ducharme. These are not what we want to see or hear. In 2021, we are somewhere else.

It’s disgusting. The perception of this type of event is probably different in North America, but it is not acceptable. The sanction is not serious enough. I think it would have been different if it had happened here. There is no place for this kind of behavior in hockey or in society.

Earlier on Wednesday, the president of the Alliance for Diversity in Hockey, a former color bearer of Calgary Flames, a former victim of racist remarks, expressed outrage on his Twitter account over the Ukrainian circuit decision.

This is a complete shame. As people of color, how can we trust a system that dutifully fails at every opportunity to protect us on the ice and outside?, He wrote in a tweet.

For his part, Nazim Kadri, a spokesman for the NHL Players’ Association in the Colorado avalanche, said on his account the Ukrainian league leaders had just dropped the ball.

The mistake made by the Ukrainian league is to allow a player to repurchase his suspension matches after making an obscene and unacceptable gesture. It is the miserable management of the person in power. Tolerating this kind of behavior is clearly a shame.

Defender Smerek, who was subjected to racist insults at a meeting last weekend, revealed that he would not play in the league again until the opponent who took the action was fined.

He mentioned it‘He takes a break Up to HC Kremenchuk Player Suspended and banned. Which is unlikely.

Deniskin kills Smerek, a black man, by imitating a banana peel.

This gesture was captured on video and widely circulated. Deniskin was sent off from the game and faces another league permit.

I strongly believe that living with these conditions is very difficult and to stand up for what is right., Smerek said on Instagram on Tuesday.

I thought a lot about what to do later in my career. But for now, I have decided to take personal leave from HC Donbass and not play another game (Ukrainian Hockey League) until I suspend Andrei Deniskin and send him out of the league.

Deniskin apologized for his gesture in a deleted social media post.

Donbass mentioned in a statement that he was Unworthy Through the actions of Deniskin. The International Ice Hockey Federation and the NHL Players’ Association also condemned the move.

This is a direct attack on the ideals and values ​​of our sport, and we ensure that all necessary investigations into ethical violations are conducted to ensure that this behavior is properly sanctioned.New IIHF President Luke Tordiff said in a statement Monday.

Smerek, originally from Detroit, played 17 games last season with the Tucson Road Runners, an affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes American League.