Rikard Grönborg did not digest the jury’s decision.
According to Rikard Grönborg, a bigger penalty should have been given for the situation. Stock photo. Mika Kylmäniemi / AOP
There was plenty to talk about on Thursday evening in Tampere, when a situation was seen in the league battle between Tappara and Sport, which made the audience of the Nokia Arena boil.
Midway through the second period, Sport’s defender Valtteri Hietanen hit Tappara’s captain with force from the back Julius Mattilawho was off the edge in the situation and thus in a particularly vulnerable position.
Mattila remained on the surface of the ice after the tackle, got up on his own after a while, but eventually left the locker room and did not return to the rink.
After a long video review, the jury only gave Hietane a two-minute penalty for a tackle on the wing, which made the home crowd react violently. Emotions also heated up on Tappara’s bench.
The head coach Rikard Grönborg didn’t mince words after the match.
– We lost our captain because of a really dirty tackle from behind. A really outrageous hit, Grönborg teased at the post-match press conference.
– The league has to get such acts out of the game. The fact that only two minutes are given for that is completely incomprehensible to me.
Grönborg also confirmed the grim news.
– Our captain is away for several weeks.
Tappara finally beat Sport after a shootout with a score of 4–3.