Technical director of the Suomen Cup skied in Kuopio Arto Tilli tells Urheilu that he will take the information Iivo Niskanen and Kalle Parantainen of intermediate events for cross-country skiing.
Tilli plans to write about the case in the TD report for each race. He will also discuss the case with other members of the judicial council before he finishes writing his report.
Tilli says that he received new video footage of the incident on the track on Sunday evening.
– When I got new material, I will put this information forward to the cross-country governing body. Then you will get to know these materials. Probably the chairman of the legislative group will take the stand, how to possibly proceed with the matter or whether to proceed at all, Tilli tells Urheilu.
If it goes ahead, how can it go?
– For example, a written warning or something like this may come into question. I don’t really want to comment on that. The legislative group will take a position on it if it deems it appropriate.
In turn, the regulatory group can examine whether the case should be handled separately in disciplinary proceedings. Then the matter would be dealt with in the disciplinary committee of the Ski Association.
†Fierce competitive situationâ€
The situation between Niskanen and Parantainen was seen in the last ascent of the men’s relay. Niskanen skied behind Parantainen and went to pass him from the left side. According to Niskanen, Parantainen wedged him on the way up.
– You have to defend the place, but you don’t have to jump on skis, Niskanen described to .
According to Parantainen, Niskanen kicked him on the ground with his skis. The video shot with a drone shows how Niskanen’s right leg folds forward towards Parantai. Neck denied to Ilta-Sanomthat he had deliberately kicked his rival.
– There was a fierce competitive situation there. Sometimes I see this even in sprints, that someone is hitting a friend or something. That doesn’t belong in skiing, that’s quite clear, says Tilli.
So do you think it looks like Niskanen is deliberately kicking towards Parantai?
– Let’s put it this way, that now that I have seen the videos, I want to talk to Iivo again about the matter, says Tilli.
According to Tilli, the events have been discussed with Niskanen twice. The latter was related to the events at the finish line of the competition. According to Urheilu’s information, the two had a verbal altercation in the goal area and Parantainen lashed out at Niska.
Tilli: No normal shift skiing
Parantainen said For Iltalehti, that he has a bloody mark on his right leg due to the situation that happened on the racetrack. He had also sent a picture to Tilli. Tilli described to Urheilu on Sunday that an indisputable proof of a possible hit on the front side of the shin would be needed.
He still tells Urheilu on Monday that he does not feel in any case that the video is indisputable proof of what happened.
– The video shows this overtaking situation, where Iivo tries to pass from the left. He doesn’t succeed and turns to the right after that. You can see a movement there, which is not normal shift skiing or anything like that, says Tilli.
According to Tilli’s view, however, it is not possible to tell from the video whether it hits the leg, for example, whether it is a deliberate kick or how the leg was tried to be directed.
Many missed the situation
The processing of the case was delayed due to many things. It was difficult to see the competition event from above and far away from the video filmed with a drone.
– I followed the competition live and I didn’t notice it on the television picture, and neither did anyone else from . I talked to the director to see if there was another angle, when this was not noticed. He consoled himself that if they had noticed, it would have been shown in slow motion.
Watch the video to see what the situation looked like on television without slowing down.
Tilli also regrets that the process did not start as hoped. According to Tilli, Parantainen should have brought the matter to the attention of the judges’ council immediately after crossing the finish line.
– Then we would have been able to go through the matter fresh and we would have had better time for it. Sure, maybe it’s better that both of them got to count laps before we talked to them. It took quite a while for it to come to our attention.
Parantainen has not replied to Niskanen
According to Tilli, no fines have been issued for disputes on the track.
– When I recall previous precedents, written warnings have mostly been used. I don’t remember a similar case in history.
Tilli did not know how to take a position on what kind of timetable decisions will be made on the matter. He reminds that none of the members of the legislative group perform their duties as paid, but all are elsewhere in their civilian jobs.
Niskanen wrote on Sunday evening in the story publication of his personal Instagram account that he has tried to reach out to Parantai and to apologize for getting angry on his own behalf. According to Urheilu, Parantainen has not yet reacted to Niskanen’s conciliatory messages.