A B.C. adult referee says he was allegedly assaulted twice both on and off the ice by a former professional hockey player.
The incident was caught on camera and is now the focus of investigations by both the RCMP and the Adult Safe Hockey League.
“It was crazy to attack somebody over a beer league hockey game,” the referee told Global News. He does not want to be identified due to fears for his safety.
The game was held Tuesday night in Langley in the Adult Safe Hockey League.
The referee told Global News that after asking a player to wear a proper visor, that same player engaged in a fight twice with an opposing player.
“I do my job as a referee and get in between them, try to intercept him, is when he punches me in the face and throws me to the ice, lands on top of me fairly aggressively and then when I stood up again and (he) popped me in the face again for a second time,” the referee said.
According to the referee, following a penalty call, the player continued to make threats to the opposing player, and the referee said things escalated even more.
“He came over and was yelling at me that he was going to see me in the parking lot. I asked him why he wanted to do that, and he said, ‘You’ll find out when you get out there.'”
The referee, having already been hit twice, said the player followed him to the dressing room, punching him for a third time.
“I tried to kind of push him off a little bit, it was hard,” he said. “But, he’s so big it was hard. And (at) that point he just grabbed me and punched me in the face, knocked my helmet off my head and ended up pulling my jersey over my head and jerseying me, so I don’t know what happened after that.”
The referee called 911 and RCMP officers arrived.
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“Front Line officers responded and were advised there had been an altercation between a player and an on-ice official that resulted in the alleged assault of that official,” Langley RCMP said.
The player has been identified as John Craighead, a former NHL player, an owner of the Surrey Knights and a member of the Vancouver Canucks alumni.
Craighead called the allegations a defamation of character and propaganda, and said they are being made because of his race.
“I got no comment on that at all. Yeah, blown out of proportion and that’s just it,” Craighead told Global News over the phone.
The Adult Safe Hockey League said it is working with RCMP and video evidence has been provided.
“Our rules are very clear, we do not tolerate this type of behavior, and once the investigation is complete, we will act accordingly,” the league said.
The Vancouver Canucks Alumni Association said it will not comment until they know more.
“You’re supposed to go out there and have fun and it’s sad because you can’t even go out there reffing, you have to be worried for your safety,” the referee said.
He added that he now has back and neck injuries from the incident, along with bruising and cuts to his face.
He said he is second-guessing his role as an official in a game he enjoys very much.
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