KHL player accidentally punches ref in the face during scuffle
Thursday's slate of KHL action contained an instance of real-life Russian Reversal, as a hockey player punished a referee.
The contest between Sibir and Metallurg Mg was not kind to one official on duty who took a rogue punch to the face while trying to break up an altercation between two players.
After Metallurg's Evgeny Timkin was whistled for slashing an opposing player towards the end of the first period, Timkin was confronted by Sibir's Yuri Sergiyenko and the two briefly engaged in a scuffle. As a referee attempted to intervene and split the two up, Timkin tried to throw a (gloved) punch at Sergiyenko. The punch missed its target and instead hit the ref flush in the jaw.
Fortunately, the official didn't seem to be too much worse for wear following the right hook. He shook it off and sent both Timkin and Sergiyenko to the penalty box for their troubles, then the game continued. I guess you just have to write off being punched in the face as a potential occupational hazard of being a hockey referee.
Props to the zebra for eating the punch and not embellishing.
Ouch pic.twitter.com/TZHg8jtvOJ
— KHL_English (@khl_eng) September 29, 2016
