The referee line of the SM League was full of comments during the playoffs from both the coaches and the head referee. There is a dialogue between the parties, but there are also still differences of opinion.
Anni Jämsä,
Simo Leinonen
The confrontation between coaches and referees has been talked about in the hockey SM league. On the eve of spring, the disputes have intensified even more.
Tappara’s head coach Rikard Grönborg has scolded the referees throughout the season, and in the end he fined himself 10,000 euros for unsportsmanlike behavior. According to ‘s hockey expert Topi Nättinen, Grönborg has disguised the negative feedback as a concern about the current state of Finnish hockey.
Also, for example, HIFK Ville Peltonen and Jukurien Olli Jokinen have criticized the refereeing and discipline of the SM League. According to Jokinen, the line of judges has become more permissive than before and the rules changed radically during the beginning of the year.
In the end, the measure of the judges was full.
The Finnish Hockey Referees’ Association reacted to the harsh feedback at the end of February, when on the association’s website published an open letter to the league community. The letter represented all judges who work in the Finnish ice hockey leagues.
In the letter, the referees called for good manners and suspected that the coaches’ attempt to manipulate the referees is behind the line change claims.
“You can have your own line in the SM league”
Now, both Peltonen and Grönborg comment on the judge’s uproar that raged in February more moderately than before.
– I personally feel that there has been a connection in the discussion and there has been an attempt to move things forward as a whole. If you think about it internationally, the SM league can certainly have some kind of line or no line, however, Peltonen spins.
– I know they will definitely do their best, no doubt about it. However, there are situations in matches when I have to defend my team and the players also expect it from me, Grönborg states.
Peltonen says that he is confident that the cooperation with the judges will work in the playoffs. However, he presents clear wishes for the judges.
– I hope we remember that we want to see goals. It would be good to keep this logic in mind when rejecting or accepting goals.
– In addition, when the first decisions about whistling or not whistling fouls are made, they should be guidelines for the entire match, Peltonen emphasizes.
Grönborg also needs solidity and a unified line to judge the playoffs.
– The judges have their own guidelines, according to which they must act, and I expect them to do so in the playoffs as well. Let’s hope for the best.
The head referee dismisses the claims of non-lineage
The league’s head referee Jyri Rönnin according to, there are no problems between judges and coaches. He emphasizes that the letter from the Ice Hockey Referee Association was not about the League’s own position, but rather it represented the entire referee community.
According to him, the dialogue between the judges and the coaches always exists and the channel is open.
– 99 percent of these discussions have been fruitful. Whether it was about criticism or other views, the discussions have been good. There is nothing bad to say.
However, Rönn does not at all agree that the refereeing of the SM League is characterized by lack of alignment.
– I do not under any circumstances sign that comment. I also follow other leagues really closely, such as the SHL and the Swiss league. I watched the Swiss playoff game yesterday as well, and I can say that we have an even line.
Rönn has already emphasized that the judges try to stick to what has been agreed with the sports directors before the start of the season. He emphasizes that the basic framework of the referee line is created together in such a way that the head coaches and sports directors of the clubs are part of the process.
According to the referee boss, it is clear that the referee line will not change in any way in the playoffs.
– The fact that the game changes is a different matter. After all, the game becomes more intense and physical from the regular season. Of course, it also brings its own challenges to the judges, but they try to find limits and implement them in the best possible way.