Footage Released of Nicholas Pezzetta's 13-month Suspension Following Brutal Assault on League Referee

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Sam Walker
November 3, 2024 (4:27 PM)

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Nicholas Pezzetta suspended for over a year following an assault on a hockey league referee

In an IHL game (Italian Hockey League) 20-year old Nicholas Pezzetta assaulted a referee with his stick following a completion of a faceoff, and he now faces the consequences.

Italian Ice Hockey Federation Releases Official Ruling

The official ruling lands Pezzetta off the ice and league for a whopping thirteen months, and according to their report, his intent was to injure the referee.

Hockey Worldwide provided further insight.

"The Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) has issued a 13-month ‼️ suspension to HC Falcons Brixen/Bressanone captain 🇮🇹Nicholas Pezzetta for hitting a referee with his stick.

Pezzetta reportedly «approached [the referee] with the intention of injuring him and hit him from behind at calf height with his stick.» The referee fell to the ground «in pain» and Pezzetta was handed a 20-minute penalty.

The 20-year-old defender has scored 3 (0+3) points in 9 games in the Italian Hockey League this season."

The video can be seen in the following video below:

Pezzetta is lucky to walk away with no off-ice discipline, such as a possible criminal charge due to his intent to injure the referee- assaulting him. The video is quite unclear on if it was intended to injure or accidental, but fans must trust the leagues ruling- which was deemed intentional, and resulted in a thirteen months suspension, hardly ever seen.