Ilves reported the terrible incident to the police.
Bad things are heard about Ilves camp. mika kylmäniemi / a.o.p
SM league club Ilves has filed a criminal complaint against a person who sent a death threat to one of the team’s players.
The head coach Antti Pennanen raised the threat at the Sport post-match press conference on Saturday. Team leader and legend of tassel ears Timo Peltomaa now confirms that the club has taken action.
The death threat came to the player in a private message on social media, and it threatened his family and children.
The message was sent after Friday’s loss to the Pelicans. At that time, Ilves, who led the SM league, had lost five of their last six matches.
– After all, the players get a lot of things like “you’re a piece of shit” and “stop”. They are still in a way understandable, the dark side of the profession. But when we go to death threats, there is a limit, says Peltomaa.
Other Ilves players have also received various threats, although not necessarily death threats.
Oddballs in the mail
Peltomaa reveals that he himself received rude feedback. However, it didn’t arrive via social media, but via a more traditional route: directly to the mailbox at home.
– There was a lot of effort involved. It wasn’t a death threat, it was just rambling. It criticized the players, coaches and the entire organization. It was mostly amusing, the team leader laughs.
– Someone had torn a note from the cardboard and written on it with an ink pen. The handwriting was a bit bad, but I got the hang of it. The wife found it in the morning.
Timo Peltomaa is an Ilves legend. Petri Kontiola is not related to the case in question. mika kylmäniemi / a.o.p
Naturally, there was no signature in the message. It does not surprise Peltomaa, because the criticism often comes anonymously to the members of the club.
– These are usually the kind of guys who walk down that street with a hood on, and don’t even dare to look people in the eye.
– I would appreciate it if someone came to criticize the activities and games to my face. That would be a manly thing to do. This is childish ranting. I’ll leave it alone.
What does the League do?
Ilves CEO Risto Jalo says that death threats are unfortunately common in elite sports.
– Athletes and public figures have complained about stupid things being written on social media. It’s gotten out of hand. They have been coming constantly. It’s good that those things have been brought up, because it’s a completely absurd thing to do, Jalo says.
In Peltomaa’s opinion, the person who sent the death threat should be banned from attending Ilves matches.
The team manager hopes that the SM league will also react to the unpleasant phenomenon. You could get a model from your western neighbor, for example.
– For example, in Sweden, all nicknames that send threatening messages are collected in Excel. They are stored there by the league. That is, if dozens of such messages start to come from a brand, they will be able to intervene, Peltomaa says.
– It would also be a matter for the SM League to start protecting the players in some way.
For the players themselves, Peltomaa suggests changing social accounts to private as a solution.