Sweden decided the thriller against Finland in the power play.
Then Peter Forsberg had the nicest possible answer to the speech against the Finnish judge.
– It’s crystal clear!, Foppa suddenly exclaimed.
Sweden were huge favorites in the quarter-finals of the Hockey World Cup against Finland. Sweden had won all group stage matches and won their group outright, while Finland was close to a historic fiasco and missed the playoffs for the first time in almost 30 years.
Big drama
But once the match got underway, there wasn’t much difference between the teams. Finland, which has been criticized for playing a boring and defensive hockey, did everything to keep Tre Kronor off the score sheet, and Emil Larmi, a regular in the SHL and Växjö Lakers, played great in the goal.
But with only a few minutes left in the match, Rasmus Dahlin made it 1-0, but Finland then put in a tok-force that paid off. The match ended 1-1, but in extra time Konto Helenius was sent off for hooking Adrian Kempe, and in the subsequent numerical superiority Joel Eriksson-Ek ruled the decision. But afterwards, Finland was furious at the verdict.
– We looked at the video. The club never hit him on the glove, it was incorrect, says national team captain Jukka Jalonen.
Foppa’s perfect answer
Finland argued that Helenius lifted Kempe’s stick when he broke into the goal, which is allowed. However, the judges meant hooking, and it was decisive. Jalonen even appealed to a referee controller after the game.
– He thought it was a mistake from our player, but it wasn’t. But he can’t admit it was a mistake. We asked if he could admit that it was a mistake, that would have been enough for us because we cannot change the result…, says Jalonen.
One person who did not like Finland’s criticism much was Peter Forsberg, however. The former superstar is an expert for Viaplay during this year’s WC tournament, and when the studio immediately after the match discussed whether the expulsion was right – which the expert Erik Granqvist did not think – then Forsberg suddenly broke into the discussion.
– I don’t think we should discuss this! It is a clear expulsion. Clearly! We scored, now let Finland discuss this, Forsberg exclaimed, which led to great laughter in the studio.
– You’ve been on the wrong side before, so now it’s nice that we got the judges with us.
When Forsberg was then asked by Niklas Jihde if he had ever been angry with a referee, Foppa, known for his temperament as a player, replied with a twinkle in his eye:
– No no. Absolutely not.
Sign up for our newsletter
Share