Fans demand disqualification after Olympic final erupts into 'embarrassing' mass brawl
Topics: News, Olympics, World News, Sport
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images
Topics: News, Olympics, World News, Sport
Fans are calling for players to be disqualified after a 'classless' brawl broke out during the hockey final.
Germany had been facing off against the Netherlands in the final for the coveted Olympic gold medal.
Things only got even more tense, however, when the match ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning it would have to go to a shootout to decide the victor.
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The Germans were first to shoot, with the Dutch keeper Pirmin Blaak managing to keep the goal at bay with some saves.
Dutch shooter Duco Telgenkamp then faced off against German keeper Jean-Paul Danneberg, managing to shoot past the the keeper and claim the gold medal for the Dutch hockey team.
But it was what happened during the celebration immediately after the shoot out which has gotten viewers up in arms.
Specifically, the actions of Telgenkamp towards the keeper.
The shooter went up to the German keeper and did a 'shushing' motion towards him.
With emotions already high as you might imagine at an Olympic final, Telgenkamp's provocation drew a furious response.
Things got out of hand after Netherlands won hockey gold 😬#BBCOlympics #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/YOa0NkrpfE
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 8, 2024
German player Niklas Wellen then rushed to confront the Dutch shooter as his teammates celebrated around him.
He was blocked by Dutch player Floris Middendorp, who stopped him from reaching Telgenkamp.
Telgenkamp then appeared to continue to mock the German side, sticking his tongue out at Wellen.
Things soon escalated with a scuffle breaking out between the two teams as they pushed and shoved each other before officials were forced to intervene to break it up.
Following the incident, Telgenkamp apologised for his behaviour, saying as per Metro: "In hindsight, I shouldn’t have gone to him. I regret that. I also apologise. I should have let it go and it wasn’t very smart."
He added: "But it’s also a bit the nature of the beast. I can be very cool-headed, but I can also let myself go. Is that part of it?
"He affected me personally. Sports are not business, it doesn’t take much to be provoked. That’s how I go into the match. I felt a bit offended."
But viewers were not impressed by the display following the final, with some even calling for disqualifications on social media.
One wrote: "Should be disqualified", while another wrote simply: "Classless."
Meanwhile, a third person offered some sage advice, posting: "Winning with grace is just as important as losing with grace."
And someone else called it 'absolutely embarrassing and disgraceful'.
However, German forward Christopher Ruhr called the Dutch team's win 'lucky', saying: "We deserved to win the gold medal. It was an incredibly close match that came down to the shoot-out.
"The Dutch team had the luck today, but our overall performance was strong.
"I think it is phenomenal that we made it to two finals at major sports events and won major knockout games."
UNILAD has contacted the IOC for comment.