A gesture horrifies the ice hockey scene

The second third is underway between HC Kremenchuk and HC Donbass in the top Ukrainian league. HCK striker Andrei Deniskin verbally insults the dark-skinned Jalen Smereck, an American defender for the Ukrainian champions Donbass, before he acts as if he were peeling a banana and eating it. Smereck is beside himself. Deniskin, a national player who finished second in the UHL's scoring list last season, will be banned from the game with a disciplinary penalty - and subsequently suspended for 13 games. However, this will be reduced to three games if Kremenchuk pays 50 Ukrainian hryvnia, the equivalent of 000 euros. A verdict that is greeted with disbelief in Ukraine and far beyond. “$1621 for racism? We demand a review of the decision!” writes Donbass on social media. Smereck himself, who is playing his first season in Europe, was shocked and has now decided not to play another game for the Ukrainian club before Deniskin is “banned from the league”. Further consequences threaten Meanwhile, the international ice hockey federation IIHF has also intervened and emphasized that it will “ensure that all necessary investigations into violations of professional ethics are carried out to ensure that this behavior is appropriately punished.” This means that Deniskin will also face a ban from national team games. The 23-year-old has since apologized on social media. “I respect all people, regardless of their race or nationality,” he says. According to Smereck, it came to this because of a fight between Deniskin and a teammate. “He threw four or five punches while he (Smereck's teammate, editor's note) was on the ground. I tried to intervene,” Smereck tells us ESPN: “I told him to fight me. And then he responded with that.” Great support After the incident, the American received great support, including from Arizona Coyotes star Clayton Keller, who is good friends with Smereck. “I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the video. Just awful. There is no place for racism in ice hockey,” says the NHL striker

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A gesture horrifies the ice hockey scene

Before this week, only die-hard fans knew about Andrei Deniskin. After a gesture that shocked the entire ice hockey scene, the Ukrainian has now inadvertently achieved worldwide fame.

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