Footage Released of Nicholas Pezzetta's 13-month Suspension Following Brutal Assault on League Referee
Nicholas Pezzetta suspended for over a year following an assault on a hockey league referee
In an IHL game (Italian Hockey League) 20-year old Nicholas Pezzetta assaulted a referee with his stick following a completion of a faceoff, and he now faces the consequences.
Italian Ice Hockey Federation Releases Official Ruling
The official ruling lands Pezzetta off the ice and league for a whopping thirteen months, and according to their report, his intent was to injure the referee.
Hockey Worldwide provided further insight.
Pezzetta reportedly «approached [the referee] with the intention of injuring him and hit him from behind at calf height with his stick.» The referee fell to the ground «in pain» and Pezzetta was handed a 20-minute penalty.
The 20-year-old defender has scored 3 (0+3) points in 9 games in the Italian Hockey League this season."
The video can be seen in the following video below:
Pezzetta is lucky to walk away with no off-ice discipline, such as a possible criminal charge due to his intent to injure the referee- assaulting him. The video is quite unclear on if it was intended to injure or accidental, but fans must trust the leagues ruling- which was deemed intentional, and resulted in a thirteen months suspension, hardly ever seen.
