Hockey player hit with criminal charges after breaking referee's arm

Originally posted on Hockey Unplugged | By Axel Williams | Last updated Sep 19, 2024 3:35 PM ET

Casper Gillberg made headlines for all of the wrong reasons back in November of last year after he bodychecked a referee into the boards for no reason, and broke the official's arm.

Subsequently, Gillberg was suspended for the rest of 2023 and even 2024. Now, his suspension is going to be extended to May 2025. Overall, things are not good for the Swedish hockey star, and it is easy to see why. However, it's getting a whole lot worse for him as he is now being hit with criminal charges for his actions.

As per Expressen,se, he has been charged with assault. Meanwhile, prosecutors hope to secure a fine of $3000 USD. While this case is looking bad for Gillberg, he proclaims that it was all in self-defense.

'We get down to the corner and I have in my head that I'm going to tackle this player and win the puck so we can attack instead. But instead he turns around, and as I continue down towards the crease I see the referee approaching and out of pure instinct or wanting to protect myself, I put my hands up and push off in pure self-defense or instinct.'

This article first appeared on Hockey Unplugged and was syndicated with permission.

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