Ice hockey-'It's a joke' - French players slam Crinon suspension after playoff loss

Advertisement Sport Ice hockey-'It's a joke' - French players slam Crinon suspension after playoff loss Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Ice Hockey - Men's Preliminary Round - Group A - Canada vs France - Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milan, Italy - February 15, 2026. Pierre Crinon of France reacts REUTERS/David W Cerny 17 Feb 2026 10:20PM Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST MILAN, Feb 17 : French players railed against the suspension of defenceman Pierre Crinon by his own federation on Tuesday, after Germany knocked them out of the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament 5-1 in their qualification playoff.The French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) said on Monday that it was removing Crinon from the tournament, after he fought with Canadian winger Tom Wilson in their final group game.The FFHG said it was also unhappy with what it called Crinon's "provocative behaviour" following the incident. "We are a big family, when we come together we come as brothers and they just got rid of one of our brothers. So it's a joke from the French committee," said goaltender Antoine Keller. Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners. Loading "We needed him today and they just took him off of us for something that just happens every weekend in any hockey game."Fighting is common in the top-flight National Hockey League but strictly forbidden in Olympic play.Germany booked a meeting with Slovakia in the last eight with a comprehensive performance at Santagiulia arena, where they never ceded the lead against the French, who leave Milan winless.It was France's first appearance in the men's Olympic ice hockey tournament since 2002."Not one of us thought there was anything dramatic about what he did," said French captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. "Obviously, it's been 20 years since they've seen hockey in the Olympics. So they were surprised about this kind of stuff." Source: Reuters Newsletter Recommended Read Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day. Sign up for our newsletters Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Subscribe here Get the CNA app Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Download here Get WhatsApp alerts Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app Join here Advertisement Also worth reading Content is loading... Advertisement Expand to read the full story Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST