Foul language, even racism, has unfortunately become a big topic of conversation in Finnish ice hockey in recent seasons. Experts have wondered, for example, about the macho culture of ice hockey, which can be seen both at the major league level and spilling over to the lower levels.
In recent memory are the Kohuts who were exposed in the ice hockey circle for both racist and homophobic yelling.
Executive director of TPS junior hockey Kalle Lahti told about the beginning of the year For Helsingin Sanomatthat the team’s juniors with a foreign background have had to listen to racist yelling – far too much†.
The founder of the tuoreen ice hockey club, Turku’s Spirit of Hockey Eetu Kilven the measure is also full. The team plays in the U20 age group Suomi series, i.e. the third highest league level in the age group.
Two Estonian players and one Ukrainian play in the team. Kilpi says that foreign players have been subjected to rude or racist yelling from match to match.
The measure was fulfilled at the beginning of February, when Spirit played against TuTo. Spirit’s Estonian player was shouted: “V***n ryssä†. The scream is clearly made by Spirit with compilation video about the match.
– During the match, I asked the jury to go to the substitution box and we went over the matter. The judge told me he heard nothing. When we scored a goal, we yelled “it’s good,†and we got a two-minute penalty for provoking the opponent. This won’t quite work then, Kilpi wonders.
“Need to take the matter forward�
Spirit of Hockey is a new club founded by one family, whose team only started in the U20 series a couple of years ago. The founders of the club are Eetu Kilpi, 22, and his brother Leevi Kilpi19.
Eetu works as a team manager and head coach. Dina Kilpi is the team’s personal trainer, you can also find the background forces Miia Kilpi.
Eetu Kilpi describes the club as a charity organization where things are wanted to be done “more elegantly and better†.
The team naturally had to start from the lower leagues, but the long-term goal is the Championship series. There is ambition.
– For us, the players and winning are at the center. The money is used directly for the team and players. We also organize free activities for juniors. We make it clear that the players are taken care of here.
Spirit Of Hockey offers according to their website a training environment where there is no bullying. The team also emphasizes its values, such as solidarity, honesty, long-termism, respect and valuing work.
After the events of the TuTo match, Kilpi and his team felt that something had to be done about the screams.
– Our Estonian and Ukrainian players have been shouted at in games. Now we got this one comment on tape, and for that we are able to do what we can about it. This is not ok for our club in any way, that you can shout anything without responsibilities.
Kilpi says that the matter was discussed among the team in training. Then the club made a report to the discipline of the Ice Hockey Federation. Urheilu has seen the disciplinary email.
– We have talked with the players in training about these situations. They are at least of the opinion that something should be done about it.
Spirit had not brought forward previous cases of yelling, but according to Kilve, it did so now because the yelling can be heard on video.
– Word for word, it’s hard to start fighting anything.
In general, Kilpi finds the screams very disturbing. According to him, they have been a shock to the team’s foreign-born youngsters.
This is how the Ice Hockey Association responds
Kilpi was also worried and surprised that the Ice Hockey Association has not reacted to their contact in any way, even though Spirit asked in its disciplinary request how the matter should proceed.
Responsible for the U20 series Juhani Sarilothe Ice Hockey League’s competition operations coordinator, directed Urheilu’s questions on the topic of the Ice Hockey League’s competition manager Pirkka Antilan in the direction of.
Antila replies that Spirit of Hockey has no cause for concern with his disciplinary request. He says that it is not Spirit’s business to know whether the matter has progressed in the Ice Hockey Association.
– If it has led to disciplinary actions, they are not public. Disciplinary decisions are communicated only to those to whom they concern. I wouldn’t be worried, because they are not supposed to know anything but about their own disciplinary decisions regarding their own players.
Antila says that he does not know about the matter, because he is not part of the disciplinary body and does not handle the series in question.
– I cannot take a position on what has been sent, where it has been sent and whether it has progressed, but be that as it may, there will be no statement about it in any case.
– But as a starting point, I can say that 100 percent of all notifications related to improper use are processed. I don’t take a stand, how and with what sanctions.
According to Antila, the club that sent the disciplinary request cannot separately find out whether the matter has progressed or whether it has been investigated.
So you can’t get information about that either, has a ban been handed out for this?
– You can’t find out. It is according to the instructions of the data protection authority that we are not allowed to make such information public, says Antila.
Secretary of the ice hockey association’s disciplinary committee Simo Paganus on the other hand says that the events of the match between TuTo and Spirit have come to the attention of the disciplinary committee.
– In that respect, the processing of the matter is still in progress. I can no longer comment on that, Paganus states.
Paganus also says that disciplinary decisions in the U20 series are not public.
Can you tell me in general that when the club has sent its message to the disciplinary e-mail, how is it progressing or has it progressed?
– I won’t comment on that anymore. Let’s say that this matter was only brought to the attention of the disciplinary committee a little later.