Atte Mäkinen was suspended.
Former league hockey player Atte Mäkinen was punished. Matti Raivio / AOP
Former league hockey player Atte Mäkinen has been banned for seven matches for the incidents in the Division II match. The ice hockey association’s disciplinary committee gave his decision on Friday.
The act that led to the ban took place on December 6. in the match between TuusKi and EVU. In the last moments of the match, Mäkinen attacked EVU Eemeli Tykkyläinen attack violently.
In that situation, Tykkyläinen received serious injuries from the sheath of Mäkinen’s racket.
– Two skull fractures at the eye socket and two wounds. The wound on the eyelid was stitched and the one in the corner of the eye was glued, Tykkyläinen told Iltalehte.
In addition, he said that he was not able to work in any way due to a serious injury. Tykkyläinen said that he had also filed a criminal complaint with the police.
In the match, Mäkinen flew into the shower, when he was sentenced to game penalties for tackling the head or neck area and spearing.
“Sheath outside the glove”
The disciplinary committee based its punishment on a video recording of the situation.
First there was a javelin, where Mäkinen hit Tykkyläinen in the lower body with the tip of the club. After that, Mäkinen fell on top of Tykkyläinen as a result of the tackle directed at him, the decision said.
– This action was followed by contact, where Mäkinen forcefully hits the opponent on the head with his right hand so that the sheath of the bat is exposed outside the glove, the reasoning continued.
There had been contact and commentary between the players during the match, but according to discipline, the events preceding the situation did not justify Mäkinen’s action.
– The Disciplinary Committee considers it proven that Mäkinen hits the opponent’s face with a strong blow with his right hand, where the head / sheath of the racket is visible. Mäkinen directs the blow from the bottom upwards at the opponent’s face so that it hits under the plexiglass of the opponent’s helmet. From the video recording, it is not possible to verify that Mäkinen intentionally exposed the head of the club before the impact.
The situation happened completely outside the game, as the puck was already in the other end.
The disciplinary committee compared Mäkinen’s case to somewhat similar previous cases. One of them was banned for 10 matches, the other seven.
– Compared to the decisions mentioned above, Mäkinen’s procedure shows less determination towards harming the opponent, taking into account, among other things, the number of blows and the duration of the procedure. On the other hand, in this case, the opponent has suffered more serious injuries than in the aforementioned cases.
The disciplinary decision can be appealed within one week.