KHL player banned for life after trying to fight entire opposing team
Just 10 days after Damir Ryspayev cheap-shotted and tried to brawl with several members of the opposing team during a preseason game, the KHL has handed down a lifetime ban to the player. In a statement, the league said that Ryspayev, a 21-year-old enforcer for HC Barys, had "grotesquely violated" the rules and his actions were "utterly unacceptable."
Three minutes into Barys' preseason game against Kunlun Red Star on August 8th, Ryspayev intentionally struck an unsuspecting opponent in the face during the middle of play. That opponent was visibly shaken and ultimately had to be stretchered off the ice, but Ryspayev doubled, tripled and even quadrupled down on his antics as he continued to search for Red Star players to challenge.
None of the Red Star players seemed to be interested in fighting Ryspayev, but that didn't stop the Barys player from taking his shots anyway. After knocking several players to the ice, Ryspayev headed to the Red Star bench where he continued to antagonize his opponents.
The game was immediately called off following the incident and the KHL swiftly gave Ryspayev an indefinite suspension. On Thursday, the league determined he would never be allowed to return.
“In hockey there has always been space for a fair fight between equal opponents under the principles of fair play," said KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko in an official statement. "But in hockey, as in any other professional sport, the can be no place for the outright violence displayed by Barys defenseman Damir Ryspaev in the game against KHL newcomer Kunlun Red Star. We are constantly working to attract a new audience and broaden the game’s geographical reach and Ryspaev’s behavior is not merely harmful in a sporting context, it also blackens the image of the league. As directors of the league, we could not allow this incident to go unpunished and so we have taken this decision.”
Ryspayev entered the KHL in 2012 and never recorded a single point. The player's agent said he'll appeal the decision.
