By Eva Borsuk

KYIV, Sept 30 – The general manager of the Ukrainian Hockey League was fired Thursday after just a month on the job when he took a strong stance against racism following an incident involving the country’s top players.

Yevhen Kolychev used his personal Twitter account to condemn the racist gesture by Andrei Deniskin of Hockey Club (HC) Kremenchuk who had mocked Black hockey player Jalen Smereck of HC Donbass on September 26.

Kolychev called for a tough punishment against Deniskin to send a strong anti-racism message, but the Disciplinary Committee had chosen to softball the incident. Deniskin was suspended for three games with an option of extending the suspension for another 10 games replaceable with a fine of $1,900.

“It’s time for the League to make it clear there is no place for racism in the game, there is no place for racism in the world. I am ironclad about it,” Kolychev said in an interview.

Kolychev, a big hockey enthusiast, was appointed to the post to promote the sport as Ukraine has been struggling with making it more competitive.

One of the first things that Kolychev did was to organize televised broadcasting of hockey games to make the sport more popular in Ukraine and to attract more interest from advertisers.

This strategy was brought to the test on September 26, when Deniskin had made the racist gesture of peeling and eating a banana apparently mocking Smereck.

Kolychev said downplaying the incident will not help to solve the real issue.

“Hiding a problem is never a good idea. Solving a problem is,” Kolychev said. “When a racist player is disqualified for just for a few games, not seasons, let alone for life, it sends the wrong message.”

Kolychev’s voice was ignored. The Ukrainian Hockey Federation’s five-person Disciplinary Committee, led by ex-NHL player Dmytro Khrystych, has decided on the soft penalty.

Hours later, the UHF dismissed Kolychev for “spreading false information” and “discrediting Ukrainian hockey.” Khrystych will now be taking over as the new general manager.

“They seem to be more concerned not about racism, but that it has become publicly known,” Kolychev said. “This is the real issue.” (eb/ez)