Russian Hockey Coach Oleg Znarok Suspended for Gold Medal Game After Throat-Slash Gesture

Russian hockey coach Oleg Znarok was suspended for the gold medal game at the IIHF World Championships after making a throat-slashing gesture toward Swedish assistant coach Rikard Gronborg during Saturday’s semifinals.

Znarok had a very reasonable explanation for the murderous promise, saying he simply had a sore throat brought on by the coldness of the arena and the thinness of his suit.

Classic excuse.

Gronborg was also suspended for lobbing some pretty nasty zingers any amateur lip-reader could clearly make out.

The ugliness between the two benches was set off by this cheap shot by Sweden’s Mikael Backlund on injured Russian Sergei Plotnikov.

The good news for Znarok is that he’ll be able to find a nice warm place to watch the title game and rehab his pesky throat ailment.

[Puck Daddy; GIFs via Russian Machine Never Breaks]