Nedvěd and Kalous fined, Doležal sits 1 game

The Association of Professional Clubs (APK) has made its ruling on the incident in the third period of Sunday's Liberec-Slavia game that included a knee, a fight, a coach walking onto the ice, and a thrown water bottle.

Jiří Doležal catches Petr Nedvěd with a knee in game 2. Both are
expected to miss game 3. Photo: Petr Zbranek, hcbilitygri.cz.

At the 7:38 mark of the third period, Slavia Praha's Jiří Doležal caught Bílí Tygři Liberec's Petr Nedvěd with a knee, two minutes after Nedvěd had scored to give Liberec a 4-0 lead. Doležal then fought with Andrej Podkonický. Incensed, Liberec coach Jiří Kalous stepped onto the ice, apparently wanting to confront Dolezal, although that didn't happen. As he left the ice, an angry Nedvěd threw a water bottle at the Slavia bench before going to the dressing room.

Doležal and Podkonický were both ejected from the game. Because he received two game misconducts, one for kneeing and one for fighting, Doležal is automatically suspended for one game. Nedvěd didn't return to the game and was taken to the hospital for examination. His status for Wednesday's game is doubtful. The referees took no action against Kalous.

After the game, both teams were screaming for disciplinary action against members of the opposition. Liberec didn't think that one game for Doležal was enough, while Slavia felt the behaviour of Nedvěd and Kalous should be punished. Ultimately, Slavia seemed to get the justice they were seeking, while Liberec was left unhappy with the outcome.

For throwing a water bottle at the Slavia bench, Nedvěd was fined CZK 10,000 (approximately EUR 400). Kalous' fine was double, at CZK 20,000 "for illegal entry to the ice rink," Karel Holý, Chairman of the APK's Disciplinary Committee, told news agency ČTK.

"Dolezal will not be punished further, as the penalty awarded in the game of five minutes and a game misconduct shall be deemed sufficient."

After the announcement of the penalties, Liberec General Manager Ctibor Jech stated, "We accept the decision of the Disciplinary Committee, even though we continue to believe that Doležal deserved, and we expected he would receive, an additional penalty. Petr Nedvěd was off the ice for two days and playing the next game is unlikely." 

The APK also had a look at the check to the head by Benzina Litvínov's Peter Janský on Oceláři Třinec's Josef Hrabal and determined that the automatic one game, resulting from the match penalty called, was sufficient punishment.

Both series resume on Wednesday and Thursday, with Litvínov hosting Třinec at 17:30 and Slavia hosting Liberec at 18:15. ČT4 Sport will televise Wednesday's game from Litvínov and Thursday's game from Prague.