Heavy fines and a 0:5 technical defeat were imposed on West Siberia's Omsk Avangard and the Moscow Region's Vityaz hockey clubs after their players staged a fight on the ice, disrupting a game in Russia's Continental Hockey League.
The game, which took place on Saturday, was stopped 3.5 minutes after its start when players began fighting on the ice. Eleven players received minor and major penalties, ranging from two minutes to ejections from the game, following the clash.
The game resumed but only for a few seconds as a new fight broke out, resulting in some more penalties and ejections. However, players continued fist-fighting.
As a result, at some moment, only six players, three from each side, remained on the ice. Referees took a decision to stop the match after another attempt to play the game was frustrated again as the players staged a new fight.
According to the official website of Russia's Continental Hockey League, each team received a fine of 1 million rubles (almost $33,500) each for disrupting the game.
Besides, an additional fine of 3 million rubles (more than $100,000) was imposed on the Vityaz club, "taking into consideration the damage to the business reputation of the Continental Hockey League, its partners, and Russian hockey in general, as well as the cumulative violations and their initiation."
The Vityaz club will face ejection from the CHL if another similar incident takes place, the website said.
MOSCOW, January 10 (RIA Novosti)
