French players upset following federation’s suspension of Pierre Crinon
There has been some backlash regarding an athlete being banned for the rest of the 2026 Winter Olympics by his own country.
On Monday, the French National Olympic and Sports Committee announced that they suspended France defenseman Pierre Crinon for the remainder of the men’s hockey tournament, following his actions in the team’s preliminary-round finale against Canada on Sunday.
Yet, some of Crinon’s teammates weren’t on board with his removal from the tournament. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, goaltender Antoine Keller called the suspension a joke.
A couple French players were upset at Pierre Crinon’s suspension Antoine Keller called it a joke Hugo Gallet said Crinon didn’t deserve it, adding the French federation was “biased by something that happened before.” (Assuming he means the previous suspension for punching a Show more
Hugo Gallet noted that the suspension was unworthy, and that the federation’s decision was “biased by something that happened before.” That could be because Crinon has been suspended several times this year by Brûleurs de Loups, a team in the French top division, including a seven-game ban for punching a maskless goaltender multiple times.
In the 10-2 loss to the gold-medal favorites, Crinon got into hot water after hitting Canada forward Nathan MacKinnon up high. Later in the game, he dropped the gloves with Tom Wilson, leading to the two players being ejected from the game.
As Crinon left the ice, he was seen waving to and antagonizing the crowd.
Pierre Crinon taking on the role of villain today. Slightly irrelevant at 10-2 to Canada ….
“The FFHG intends to remind everyone of the values of every player wearing the French national team jersey and their duty to set an example,” France’s Olympic Committee said in a release. “Particularly during the Olympic Games. Pierre Crinon’s provocative behavior upon leaving the ice, even though he had just been ejected from the game for fighting, constitutes a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
With no Crinon in the lineup. France was ultimately eliminated by Germany in the playoff qualifiers on Tuesday.