The French Ice Hockey Federation has made a rigorous decision to exclude Pierre Crinon from the Winter Olympic Games in Milan. The French national team defender has been penalized for instigating a brutal brawl with Canadian Tom Wilson and for unsportsmanlike conduct towards the audience. The incident, which occurred during a 2:10 group stage loss, ended the player's Olympic journey, casting a negative shadow on the image of the entire national team.

Exclusion from the national team

The FFHG federation suspended Pierre Crinon for the remainder of the Games for unsportsmanlike conduct and provoking fans after a brawl with a Canadian player.

Brutal on-ice incident

In the third period of the France-Canada match, an exchange of blows occurred between Crinon and Tom Wilson; both were penalized with ejection.

Legal troubles of the hockey player

The prosecutor's office announced the player will be tried in May for assaulting an Angers goaltender, which he allegedly committed in November.

During a group stage match at the Winter Olympic Games in Milan, scenes of violence rarely seen at this level unfolded. French defender Pierre Crinon engaged in a brutal brawl with Canadian forward Tom Wilson. The incident took place with seven minutes remaining in the game, with the Canadian team holding a crushing 10:2 lead. While fighting is a permissible part of the game in the NHL, the IIHF regulations in force at the Olympics strictly prohibit it, resulting in the immediate ejection of both players from the match. The decision to remove Crinon from the squad for the remainder of the tournament, however, did not stem solely from the fight itself. The authorities of the French Ice Hockey Federation (FFHG) cited the player's provocative behavior after leaving the ice as the main reason. Crinon, while heading to the locker room, made offensive gestures towards fans, which was deemed a gross violation of Olympic values. Consequently, the defender did not play in the crucial qualification match against Germany, which the French lost 1:5, ending their tournament run in the round of 16. The last time such a serious brawl occurred during an Olympic hockey tournament was in 1998 in Nagano. Since then, federations have been striving to completely eliminate physical aggression unrelated to play, promoting the idea of gentlemanly competition on the ice.As if the disciplinary troubles weren't enough, the prosecutor's office in Grenoble announced that Pierre Crinon will stand trial in May. The case concerns a separate incident from November, when the player allegedly assaulted a goaltender from the Angers team during a French league match. The accumulation of these events calls into question the future international career of the hockey player, who, despite previous apologies for rough play, failed to control his emotions at the world's most important sporting event. France - Canada Match Result (Group Stage): France 2:10 Canada25 minutes — of penalty minutes received by the brawl participants before ejection„„Pierre Crinon's provocative behavior after being ejected from the game constitutes a serious violation of the ethical principles and values promoted by our federation”” — FFHG Statement

Mentioned People

  • Pierre Crinon — French ice hockey defenseman, player for a Grenoble club, removed from the Olympic squad for fighting and unsportsmanlike conduct.
  • Tom Wilson — Canadian forward, national team representative at the 2026 Games, participant in the brawl with Crinon.
  • Nathan MacKinnon — Canadian hockey star, previously attacked by Crinon, which provoked Wilson's intervention.