Missed call causes anger after Czech goal, and it almost got worse
What could have been the biggest controversy at the Olympics almost happened but was saved by some strong play and impressive last-minute actions.
TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie stated that Czechia had six players on the ice when they scored their third goal, which is against the rules and should have led to a penalty for having too many players, meaning the goal should not have counted. But the game kept going.
Shortly after, Ondrej Palat scored the goal that put Czechia in the lead, surprising Canada with less than eight minutes left in the game.
Many sports experts and commentators have noticed this missed call since then.
The action started right after Canada’s goalie, Jordan Binnington, made an incredible save from Radko Gudas. The puck was still in play, things got hectic, and Palat took advantage of the situation. That’s when the referee missed the call. No whistle was blown. No review was done. The goal counted.
For a moment, it seemed like Canada might lose their chance at the Olympics because of all the drama.
People across Canada felt the tension, but Nick Suzuki stepped up. With 3:27 left on the clock, Suzuki redirected a shot from Devon Toews into the net past the Czech goalie, tying the game and sending it into overtime, where everything was at stake.
Once again, Mitch Marner came through when it mattered most.
Instead of discussing a major error by the officials, Canada is now moving on to the semifinals. However, if Suzuki hadn’t scored that tying goal, this missed call could have overshadowed the whole tournament and caused anger for a long time.
But after the game, head coach Radim Rulík was very upset with the referees and said this:
The referees make me really nervous. What they let happen to us is just not fair. After each game, we show them two or three video clips where they agree the other team should have been punished. I just don’t get it. It seems like everyone is too scared to call anything against Canada. It felt like we were facing six players out there. I’m not trying to make excuses, and not everyone needs to see it my way, but the videos prove my point. Because of this, the tournament doesn’t feel fair. We faced this same problem even when we played Denmark. Having a mix of NHL and European referees isn’t working well – each one has a different way of calling the game. I watch two NHL games on replay every day. The play Nečas had today, when his stick got touched while he was breaking away, is always a penalty in the NHL. But here, it wasn’t called. I really hate that. The players deserved better calls from the referees. They always admit later that we were correct, but things never change. We should have had chances on the power play against Canada. But they seemed worried that Pasta or Nečas would score again on the power play. Also, if Gudas got a penalty, then Doughty should have too for hitting Pasta.
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