The IIHF decried a racist gesture made by a white player toward a Black one in the Ukrainian Hockey League over the weekend.
On Sunday, HK Kremenchuk forward Andri Denyskin mimed peeling and eating a banana in the direction of HC Donbass defenseman Jalen Smereck.
"The IIHF condemns in the strongest possible terms the actions of Andri Denyskin," the international governing body of hockey said Monday in a statement. "There is no place for such a blatantly racist and unsportsmanlike gesture in our sport and in society."
"This a direct assault on the ideals and values of our game, and we will ensure that all necessary ethics violation investigations occur to ensure that this behaviour is sanctioned appropriately," the IIHF added.
UHL general manager Eugene Kolychev committed to monitoring the probe, which the Ukrainian hockey federation will oversee.
Being General Manager of @uhlua I declare that there is no place for #racism in Ukrainian professional hockey#UHL will follow closely the investigation of Disciplinary Committee in Federation of Hockey in Ukraine into the case of racist abuse aimed at @jalen_smereck #stopracism pic.twitter.com/Ragx38GyTx
— Eugene Kolychev (@EvgeniyKolychev) September 27, 2021
Smereck, a 24-year-old Detroit-born rearguard, is playing in Ukraine after spending parts of five seasons in the AHL and ECHL.
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