Why You Don’t See Fighting in Olympic Ice Hockey

Players aggressively slam opponents into the walls of the ice rink in Milan-Cortina. Players get fouled. Some get checked against the wall. Sticks slap. Some fall to the ice. But what you don’t see? Players pulling off their gloves to fight.

Players from Slovakia and Finland nearly got into a tussle, but the referees got in between them.

Why No Fighting?

Fighting is banned at the Olympics. The International Hockey Federation (IHF) prohibits it. If players engage in fighting, they will face ejection from the game. The IHF states in its rulebook that fighting is “not part of international ice hockey's DNA.” This includes the Winter Olympic ice hockey games.

Rule 46.1

This is from the official IHF rulebook.

"Players who willingly participate in a 'brawl / fight' so-called “willing combatants”, shall be penalized accordingly by the Referee(s) and may be ejected from the game. Further Supplementary Discipline may be imposed.

A “fight” shall be deemed to have occurred when at least one (1) Player punches or attempts to punch an opponent repeatedly or when two Players wrestle in such a manner as to make it difficult for the Linespersons to intervene and separate the combatants.

Any Player who persists in continuing or attempting to continue a “fight or altercation” after they have been ordered by the Referee to stop, or who resists a Linesperson in the discharge of their duties shall, at the discretion of the Referee, incur at least a Major Penalty (“Fighting”) plus a Game Misconduct Penalty (5’+GMP) in addition to any additional penalties imposed.

The Referees are provided very wide latitude in penalties they may impose under this rule. This is done intentionally to enable them to differentiate between the obvious degrees of responsibility of the participants either for starting the 'fight or persisting in continuing the fight.' The discretion provided should be exercised rationally."

If you trip a player, you’ll be penalized, or worse, ejected from the game. Or even worse, you could be suspended from future hockey matchups.

Take note, Matthew and BradyTkachuk, both playing for Team USA, and known for aggressive play.

Keep those gloves on.