Hong Kong junior ice hockey team to be punished over brawl with Thai players at Bangkok match, sports body says
- Viral Twitter video shows about 30 players from Hong Kong and Thai men’s under-18 teams trading blows after match at overseas invitational tournament
- Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association says no one injured during incident, but players involved must ‘develop emotional management skills’ to avoid future brawls
Members of the Hong Kong men’s under-18 ice hockey team will face “punishment and warnings” after they clashed with their Thai counterparts at an overseas match, the city’s association for the sport has said.
A viral Twitter video shows about 30 players from both teams brawling with one another after wrapping up a match at an invitational tournament in Bangkok, despite referees’ best efforts to separate them.
“The Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association has always valued athletes’ discipline, and is currently looking into the incident with the tournament organiser,” the Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association said on Saturday, two days after Thailand won against the city 3-0.
“Athletes involved in the incident from both sides will receive punishment and warnings.”
Hong Kong top sports body to issue written reprimand to ice hockey association
The association said no one was injured during the scuffle, but added that the players involved must “develop emotional management skills” to avoid future incidents.
A spokesman for the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee said it had become aware of the incident after the association issued its statement and was in contact with the ice hockey body.
The federation demanded the association submit a situation report by August 20, which should include the penalties issued to the athletes involved and measures outlining how it would prevent repeat incidents.
Speaking to the Post, Ryan Chu Chak-hay, a member of the men’s ice hockey team, said fighting was sometimes allowed in certain professional leagues, mainly those in North America.
But post-tournament brawls as seen in the video were rare, said Chu, who did not take part in the Bangkok match. He said he saw a video of a scuffle between two players during the line up to shake hands, which was posted by one of the athletes involved in the fight.
“[Usually] they give out suspensions,” he said. “Traditionally, in hockey, fighting in professional leagues would be one versus one, helmets are off, gloves are off. But in this instance, everyone’s helmets were on.”
In the 43-second video posted online, players from both sides were seen tackling each other and throwing punches on the rink with their jerseys and helmets on, while some were seen holding their sticks.
End row over Hong Kong national anthem fiasco and improve, minister warns
Hong Kong’s ice hockey governing body made headlines in March when a song linked to the 2019 anti-government protests was played instead of the Chinese national anthem, “March of the Volunteers”, during a world championship match. The Hong Kong Ice Hockey Association became embroiled in a row with the city’s top sports federation over responsibility for the blunder.
The sports federation had said it was unclear whether the ice hockey team gave a hard copy of the anthem to the event organisers, a move which could have prevented the mix-up.
Under federation guidelines issued last November, national sports associations could lose their committee membership or government funding if they were found to be responsible for the misuse of the national anthem or city flag during international competitions.
