We’ve all heard the saying “Detroit vs. Everybody“. In this case it’s “Ryspayev vs. Everybody”. In a match over in the KHL between the Barys Astana and Red Star Kunlun, a brawl broke out roughly 3 minutes into the first period. Damir Ryspayev sucker-punched Red Star center Tomas Marcinko, resulting in Marcinko being stretchered off the ice. This initiated the brawl.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnc6b6s-G7Q
Keep in mind that this was a pre-season contest. After the punch, Ryspayev attacked two other unwilling combatants, whipping them around the ice. He then approached the Red Star’s bench. He grabbed and swung at players behind the bench, eventually resulting in the officials wrangling him and throwing him in the penalty box.
The KHL immediately suspended Ryspayev for the remainder of the pre-season. They later handed down the amended lifetime ban in response to further reviews.
“It goes without saying that hockey is a contact sport,” said Gennady Timchenko, chairman of the KHL’s board of directors. “But above all, it is a fair contest in which rival players are guided by the rules of the game and spirit of sporting ethics. The league acts as a guarantor of these rules and laws, and cannot allow them to be systematically and grotesquely violated. It is utterly unacceptable to intentionally endanger the safety and fitness of opposing players. Every player’s professionalism is demonstrated by the ability to play a hard, uncompromising game while maintaining full respect for fellow sportsmen and their fans.”
Just goes to show, even if you’re playing a physical contact sport, there are always limits.
