Russians upset at losing to America in the Olympics hockey match-up have gathered about the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, vowing to kill the American hockey referee they blame for their 3-2 shootout loss.
They’re also threatening to turn the remains of ref Brad Meier into soap, The Daily Mail reported.
Russia’s coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov thinks his team would have won if Meier hadn’t disallowed a goal the Russians scored when the game stood at 2-2.
Mr. Meier disallowed the goal after U.S. goaltender Jonathan Quick pointed out that the net wasn’t affixed to its base — a violation of rules.
Both Meier and Swedish referee Marcus Vinnerborg looked at footage and the net was not properly moored to its base and the goal couldn’t be counted.
More than 11,000 at the Bolshoi Ice Dome broke into angry shouts at the decision.
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“It was definitely a goal,” whined Russia’s Alex Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals. “The goalie touched the net so the net moved. The referee had to see it. [Meier] should have given [Quick] two minutes.”
The Americans ultimately won, in a dramatic shootout that saw T.J. Oshie score four times — and instantly become an American hockey icon.
The International Ice Hockey Federation found in Mr. Meier’s favor, saying his call was correct “and that the proper procedure had been followed with regards to the video review,” The Daily Mail reported.
Yet Russians aren’t relinquishing their victim status so easily.
Some fans have taken to Twitter to post pictures of Mr. Meier with disparaging comments.
And in Moscow, the comments took on a more threatening tone, with fans assembly outside the U.S. Embassy and protesting Mr. Meier — who is a referee in the NHL — and taking part in a soap shredding demonstration.
The soap shredding has a couple of translations: neither of them friendly.
One interpretation is that it signifies the killing of someone and then using that person’s body fat to make soap. Another is to suggest a hanging — and the soap is what’s used on the noose.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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