KEY POINTS

  • A 20-year-old hockey player gets a lifetime ban for punching a referee in Foxborough, Massachusetts
  • The player faces more sanctions as the incident is now being investigated by Foxborough police
  • The USPHL says the league has "zero-tolerance for any player striking an official"

Hockey is a physical game and it does have an emotional aspect tied to it.

One of the common instances during games would be seeing players getting penalized for rough plays or tactics.

Much of this happens in the National Hockey League. However, junior hockey games are not spared from seeing players allowing their emotions to get the best of them.

That was in full circle when a hockey player sucker-punched a referee after he was sent to the penalty box.

The incident occurred in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), a developmental league for amateurs.

The player was identified as Paul Halloran of the South Shore Kings. The 20-year-old was whistled in the first period of their game against the Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton Knights in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

As he was being escorted by another referee, he made the grave mistake of laying his hands on the official who sent him to the box, punching the game official in the face.

The referee got knocked on the ice but managed to get up afterward.

A video of that sequence can be seen below.

For his actions, the player was handed a lifetime ban by the USPHL. His actions were unacceptable and the league made it clear that they have zero tolerance for anyone who would place their hands on game officials.

“The action taken today by a USPHL player is completely unacceptable in the USPHL. The USPHL has zero-tolerance for any player striking an official, at any time,” an official statement from the USPHL read via Twitter.

But getting banned may be the least of the worries of the erring player. The incident is also being investigated by local authorities. This means that further charges could be meted on the player.

“The incident is currently being investigated by local authorities and as such the USPHL will have no further comments at this time,” the USPHL also said in the same statement.

According to the Daily Mail, the Foxborough police department is also conducting its own investigation.

“The situation is under investigation by the Foxborough police and we are aware of the video,” Foxborough chief Michael Grace told the outlet.

Representation Image: Hockey
Representation Image: Hockey Photo by Maurice DT on Unsplash
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