Police file charges against hockey player for incident involving referee

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TJ Tucker
September 19, 2024 (11:27)

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Casper Gillberg, who received a lengthy suspension from hockey for hitting a referee into the boards and breaking his arm, is now facing criminal charges in the case

It was one of those incident that had everyone in the hockey world talking about it. In November of 2023, Casper Gillberg levelled a referee into the boards during a game in Sweden, causing the official to break his arm. Now, police have decided to file criminal charges in the case.

Casper Gillberg was suspended for the rest of 2023 and all of 2024 following the incident. That suspension was recently extended to go to the end of May of 2025.

Charges Laid

Now, according to Expressen,se. Casper Gillberg has been charged with assault in the incident, with the prosecution seeking a fine of close to $3000 USD. Gillberg, 22, continues to deny any wrongdoing in the case, saying he was trying to protect himself.

"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.

No word on when the trial will begin in this case. Gillberg has played in North America, suiting up for the Corpus Christi IceRays of the NAHL in 2021-22 before heading back home to Sweden to continue his career.

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