After his brutal foul in the playoff quarter-finals, national ice hockey player Fabio Wagner has been suspended for 14 games. The German Ice Hockey League (DEL) announced this on Wednesday evening.
Wagner had previously apologized. He was “sincerely sorry,” it was “a mistake on my part,” and he took “full responsibility for my actions,” said the Red Bull Munich defender in an Instagram video and wished Edwin Tropmann from Ingolstadt “a speedy recovery.”
Olympic participant Wagner knocked Tropmann down with a check to the head in the middle of the ice during Munich’s 7-2 defeat on Tuesday at ERC Ingolstadt. The 20-year-old was unconscious and had to be taken out of the hall to the ambulance on a stretcher after minutes of treatment.
According to ERC, he suffered a head and neck injury and remains in hospital for further evaluation. That night, Tropmann contacted Instagram and thanked him for the “many kind wishes for a quick recovery.”
DEL playoffs ended for Wagner
Wagner’s ban is valid until at least May 8th, meaning he is no longer allowed to play until the end of this year’s playoffs for the German championship. The player will also receive a fine, as the DEL also announced. Teammate Jeremy McKenna was also suspended for two games after a foul.
Wagner received a game-related disciplinary penalty – as the third Munich player in the game that got completely out of hand. In total, the referees Christopher Schadewaldt and Marian Rohatsch imposed 175 penalty minutes, 125 of them against Red Bull. In order to prevent further escalation, they took an unusual measure shortly before the end after Wagner’s foul: After a brief consultation with the coaches and captains, they threw the puck in and let the remaining 100 seconds run off the clock.
