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Ex-NHL Referee Admits he Gave Special Treatments to Certain Players


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Julien Trekker
October 12, 2023  (11:02)
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Over the years, there have been speculations that referees have given special treatment to some players.

While there was no definite proof of these accusations, we observed on the ice that refs don't treat every player impartially.
Tim Peel, a former referee, talked about this issue in a recent interview.
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Former Referee Admits He Gave Special Treatment

Peel was fired from the NHL in 2021 when he was caught on a mic telling a team that he made up a penalty call for their opponents to compensate for a bad call earlier.
Many fans suspected that these methods were used in the NHL, but this is definite proof.
Here's what Peel said that caused a huge stir:
"Did I give Sid Crosby some breaks over the years? Did I give Alexander Ovechkin some? Did I give the superstars some? Absolutely, because - guess what? - that's what the 18,000 fans are there to see. They're there to see him, not some fourth-line plugger."

Then, he added:
"[For a cross-check to the head], the refs have to call it. The refs are gonna call it. I don't think Hockey Ops says, 'Well, Buffalo's not very good. We shouldn't suspend the other player because they've got a good team and Buffalo's not very good.' I disagree with that."
Do you think referees should be 100% unbiased?

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