Czech star breaks silence on controversial ‘too many men’ goal against Canada

Czech star finally speaks on controversial “too many men” goal against Canada

The debate over Czechia’s third goal against Canada in the Olympic quarterfinal shows no signs of dying down, and now a player involved has offered his perspective.

During the third period, Czechia appeared to have six skaters on the ice for an extended moment — an infraction that would normally draw a too-many-men penalty and could have nullified the goal. Instead, play continued, and Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal with under eight minutes left, leaving Canadian fans stunned.

The missed call quickly drew attention from analysts and insiders, and the IIHF later admitted the officiating error. Through TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, an IIHF spokesperson confirmed the play had been reviewed and a too-many-men penalty had indeed been missed. The organization stressed that the “best of the best” officials were selected for the Olympics but acknowledged that mistakes happen, and the officiating team has since regrouped.

One of the players involved reflected on the moment: “I guess we didn’t get along,” he said, describing how he came onto the ice at the same time as another teammate. “We scored the goal… and then I look around and think, ‘Man, there’s too many of us here.’”

With a grin, he added: “If you want to beat Canada, you have to try everything.”

While the explanation doesn’t erase the controversy, it adds a humorous and human element to one of the most debated plays of the tournament.