The ice hockey association pays 3,000 euros to a player who has been subjected to racism and 3,000 euros to his coach. In addition, the Jääkiekkoliitto reimburses the expenses incurred in handling the case.
A settlement has been reached in the hockey racism case.
Last fall, a player of the Lahti Pelicans U13 junior team told his coach at the end of the match that he was the target of a racist insult.
Team coach Juha Sokka told about the incident in the Urheiluhullut program.
Now the Ice Hockey Federation has admitted that there was discrimination in the case.
The Ice Hockey Federation pays compensation according to the Equality Act 3,000 euros to the player and 3,000 euros to the coach. In addition to this, the Jääkiekkoliitto compensates the player and the coach for the expenses incurred.
– We have accepted the equality commissioner’s settlement proposal, apologized to the player and the coach, and with that turned our eyes to the new season, president of the Ice Hockey Association Harri Nummela says in the union’s press release.
According to the press release from the Equality Commissioner, the Ice Hockey Federation was guilty of violating the Equality Act in the handling of the case.
– It’s great that a settlement was reached in this case and the Ice Hockey Federation has taken steps to promote equality on a wider scale as well. Everyone has the right to non-discrimination in sports. Especially when the players are children and young people, it is necessary that racist and discriminatory behavior is dealt with strictly and also prevented, leading special expert, head of unit Robin Harms says in the bulletin of the equality commissioner.
This is how the racism case progressed
According to the press release from the Equality Commissioner, Pelicans’ “player was subjected to indirect discrimination prohibited by the Equality Act, as both the Ice Hockey Federation’s instructions for addressing racist harassment and the referees’ training have been inadequate.”
The situation started in a junior puck match played on November 6, 2022.
When Pelicans’ 13-year-old player told his coach that he had been the target of a racist insult, coach Juha Sokka ordered his team to the locker room and demanded that the referees of the match clarify the situation. The game was not played to the end and according to Soka, the referees did not demand that the match continue.
According to Soka, one of the judges and several witnesses said they heard the insult and the name of the shouter is known. The matter was not dealt with in the Ice Hockey Federation because there was a competition manager in the situation Pirkka Antilan according to “word for word”.
The Ice Hockey Federation banned Soka for three matches and fined Pelicans a thousand euros. According to the Equality Commissioner, the punishment given to the coach was a prohibited countermeasure referred to in Section 16 of the Equality Act.
Sokka appealed the decision to the Sports Legal Protection Board.
The judicial protection board decided that the fine of one thousand euros received by the Pelicans junior team will be removed, because according to the board, it was unreasonable. The three-match ban imposed on Soka was changed to one match.
The Equality Commissioner took a stand on the case in January and demanded an explanation from the Jääkiekkolliito about what happened.
The equality commissioner finally made a settlement proposal in the case, which the junior hockey player in question, his guardian and coach Sokka accepted as reasonable.
In May, it was reported that the Jääkiekkoliitto rejected the equality commissioner’s settlement proposal on the case and transferred the handling of the case to a law firm. At that time, Pelicans’ junior coach Juha Sokka told Urheilu that he would take legal action against the Ice Hockey Association.
– It took a long time, but the most important thing is that a common note was found. Based on our discussions, I believe that the matter will be taken seriously and the activity will be genuinely developed, coach Juha Sokka commented on Tuesday in the Ice Hockey Association’s press release.