Mascot accused of injuring opposing player during game in Finland

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Cooper Godin
March 21, 2024 (12:16)

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A mascot has been accused of injuring an opposing player during game in Finland recently.

A pretty unusual and crazy story is being reported out of the Finland this week as the first quarterfinal round of the 2024 Liiga Playoffs get underway.

During Game One of the series between Tappara Tampere and TPS Turku on Wednesday, TPS player Jimi Suomi suffered an injury that his team is blaming on the opposing mascot. Yes, you read that right.

According to Reddit user u/uusrikas, TPS Turku are claiming that Tappara's mascot, Tapsu, leaned on the glass causing an injury to their player, Jimi Suomi. TPS Turku say that because the mascot leaned on the glass, it wasn't able to function properly and absorb the hit on Suomi, ultimately causing an injury.

"Major controversy in Finnish hockey: TPS claim their player Jimi Suomi was injured in a hit because Tappara's mascot caused the flexible boards to not function properly by pushing the glass from the other side."

"Bizarre story out of SM-liiga in Finland: Tappara's mascot was accused of injuring an opposing player by leaning on the glass when he was hit 😳" B/R Open Ice said on X.

There hasn't been any official comment from Tappara Tampere or the mascot, Tapsu, following the allegations this week. It's also unclear at this time how long Jimi Suomi will be out of action for TPS Turku.

TPS Turku and Tappara Tampere will meet for Game Two of their quarterfinal series on Friday, with the latter leading the series 1-0 following a 4-1 win in Game One.

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Should Liiga discipline Tappara if TPS' allegations are found out to be true?
Yes, should be fined	49	59.8 %
No, the mascot didn't do anything wrong	21	25.6 %
Unsure	12	14.6 %
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