The KHL has suspended four referees for upholding Lokomotiv Yaroslavl’s second goal in a game against Traktor Chelyabinsk, the league announced Tuesday.
Lokomotiv prevailed in a penalty shootout Monday to beat Eastern Conference leader Traktor on the road after overtime ended 2-2 draw on Monday.
The KHL accepted Traktor's complaint that Lokomotiv had six players on the ice when Sergei Plotnikov made it 2-1 to the visitors in the second period.
“There was a controversial episode associated with too many men on the ice for Yaroslavl in a scoring attack,” the KHL said in a website statement. “There was a grave mistake made by the referees.”
“The referees were required to cite too many men for Lokomotiv and call a minor violation by the team.”
Head referees Alexei Anisimov and Sergei Belyaev have been suspended for three games, while linesmen Evgeny Petrov and Ivan Fateyev have been banned for the season and will continue their work in the Russian Major League.
Despite the defeat, Traktor retained the leadership in the East, while Lokomotiv is second in the Western Conference, three points behind the leader Dynamo Moscow.
Traktor hosts Torpedo Nizhniy Novgorod on Wednesday, and Lokomotiv travels to Yekaterinburg to face Avtomobilist.
