Ice hockey team Ilves’ SM league player tells Aamulehte that he hopes that the sender of the message will learn a lesson and regret his actions.
The Ilves player who received a death threat after last week’s SM league match played on Friday has reported the incident interview for Aamulehti.
Ilves lost the match to Pelicans at home 3–5. The player says that he received a death threat after this.
– I opened my phone and saw the threats. They threatened my life and that of my family members. I got really angry, the Ilves player commented to Aamulehte.
A criminal report has been filed and the police are investigating the case.
The player initially discussed the matter with his teammates. He asked if they had experienced something similar.
– They answered no and said that I have to report the message on. I chatted then Timo Koskelan (Ilves sports director) and with the rest of the club management. We agreed that it is the responsibility of the club and me to show that this is not okay, he told Aamulehte.
The Ilves player says that the main feeling after the message was anger. He also discussed the topic with his spouse.
– My wife was also enraged by the message. We said that we cannot accept this kind of thing and that someone needs to be held accountable for this.
Ilves head coach Antti Pennanen brought it up the very next day, Saturday, at the press conference after the Sport match.
– Players receive a lot of critical messages on social media, but yesterday the limit was crossed. When death threats start coming, and the family and children are threatened with killing, it is absolutely unacceptable. Both this and future issues will be a police matter, Pennanen commented.
The player has not thought about what kind of punishment he would like for the sender of the message. For him, the most important thing is that the sender of the message learns a lesson and regrets what he did.
– I hope this has a wider impact. We hockey players have our responsibility. This may prevent some people from writing similar messages. One such incident is too many.