The Czechs are close to the quarterfinals of the World Hockey Championship after the victory over Norway, but coach Kari Jalonen only partially celebrated. He was annoyed by an unpunished hard intervention on Matěj Blümel, who did not finish Saturday’s match.
It was a scary moment. Blümel, who had just played a disc in the corner of the rink, was flowing at full speed more than the meter giant Andreas Martinsen, the toughest player in the match.
The young Czech attacker jumped to the ice and stayed lying for a long time. He finally left the field with the help of his teammates. The match for him ended in the middle of the third period.
And Martinsen? He escaped unpunished. The judges judged Blümel to hit the net.
“Clear foul,” Jalonen disagreed. “Right after that crash, I got a message from our people in the stands that it was a clean blow to the head. I talked to the judges and supervisors. I don’t understand why they don’t use the tools they have. They can watch the video and then make a decision, especially when he sees that the player is injured. But they didn’t go! I don’t like it and I don’t understand. The safety of the players is the most important thing. “
As Jalonen explained his gaze to the judges, they told him they saw a blow to the chest, not the head. “But everyone saw that it was in their head!” angry 62-year-old coach was angry.
He subsequently mentioned that the judges at the World Cup did not harm the Czechia for the first time. “We complained after the match with Sweden and they agreed with me. But it is too late. There is a really thin line between winning and losing, so they must follow the rules and be fair to everyone,” he added.
Blümel did not comment on his health because he had not yet spoken to the doctor at the time.
However, he praised the Czech players for reacting to Martinsen’s intervention. In the last ten minutes, the Norwegians did not like anything and noticeably tightened. Tomáš Hertl, Michal Kempný and Michal Jordán went to the penalty box for their rudeness.
“It was very emotional. The players held together, which I liked. They basically took control of the match because they couldn’t rely on the referee,” Jalonen said.
The eventual loss of Blümel would hurt the Czechs. Although he is only 21 years old, he is one of the best players in the team in Tampere. Before the arrival of David Pastrňák, he supplied energy to the first formation with David Krejčí and Roman Červenka, then he moved to the second line to Tomáš Hertl.
In five clans, the Pardubice winger accumulated seven points (3 + 4) and together with Krejčí he is the second most productive man of the team. He also has seven plus points in the evaluation of the stay on the ice, which surpasses all teammates.
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