The league's disciplinary action has struck: Rikard Grönborg receives a ban from officiating and Tappara is fined!

The league’s disciplinary delegation has imposed a fine of 10,000 euros on Tappara, a three-match suspension on Tappara’s head coach Rikard Grönborg, and a warning to JYP regarding the events of the Tappara-JYP match played on February 18.

The league’s CEO Mikko Pulkkinen referred the match events to disciplinary review. The matters under consideration included three fights, the conduct penalties for the head coaches of the teams, Grönborg and Petri Matikainen, as well as a statement made by JYP’s assistant coach Santeri Heiskanen during a press conference, in which he implied that the match featured a retaliatory action related to the events of the teams’ previous encounter.

Grönborg is prohibited from being in areas reserved for teams, the press, or match officials, where special permission is required for access, during the next three matches. The ban starts two hours before the match time and ends 30 minutes after the match has concluded. Grönborg is not allowed to contact his team’s players or officials during the match.

– The disciplinary delegation believes that the responsibility of a head coach acting as a supervisor should be greater than that of a player. Based on the aforementioned, the disciplinary delegation has deemed it appropriate to impose a three-match suspension on the head coach. The disciplinary delegation states that the penalty is not disproportionate in relation to the reprehensibility of the act and the fact that a two-match suspension has been imposed on the player for the incident, as stated in the league’s disciplinary decision.

– It has been determined that Tappara’s head coach was aware of the so-called warning given regarding the fight and failed to intervene in his supervisory role. Therefore, the disciplinary delegation believes that Tappara as a club should also be penalized for the incident. The disciplinary delegation has assessed that a fair consequence for Tappara is a contractual fine of 10,000 euros.

JYP’s head coach Matikainen will not receive a suspension. JYP has been warned about the public behavior of the club’s representative during the press conference.

– The disciplinary delegation notes that JYP’s head coach Matikainen was removed from the match along with Grönborg after the third fight. The delegation states that in the disciplinary proceedings concerning the players, the fights in the last minute of the third period were considered to be spontaneous fights. In this disciplinary review, it has not been shown that Matikainen instructed the fights or that he was aware of or allowed them to happen. Therefore, it has not been demonstrated that Matikainen acted in a way that he neglected his duties as head coach. Consequently, no penalties will be imposed on Matikainen.

– In the post-match press conference, JYP’s representative, assistant coach Heiskanen, claimed that Tappara’s head coach had been “shouting about revenge all week” and described his team’s actions with profanity. The disciplinary delegation believes that Heiskanen, with his performance and choice of words, has crossed the line of acceptable public behavior in the press conference.

– The disciplinary delegation finds it appropriate to issue a warning to JYP regarding the behavior of its assistant coach during the press conference. If similar behavior continues, it will be punished with a fine.