A turbulent week is unfolding for Pierre Crinon following his weekend Olympic bout against Tom Wilson.
Tossed from the Canada-against-France contest and then taunting onlookers, Crinon was subsequently barred by the FFHG, France's hockey body, from his nation's last tournament tilt, a defeat to the Germans by a 5-1 count on Tuesday. Yet a one-game sanction may prove the smallest of his troubles once he gets home, since the scrap with Wilson has dropped him into legal jeopardy via a criminal case before the courts in France.
According to a report carried by a French regional daily, Grenoble's top prosecutor, having watched the Crinon-Wilson dust-up, resolved to pursue charges tied to a separate episode from earlier in the year between the blueliner and a netminder on the opposing side.
That prior incident, already thrown out in court, involved Crinon punching a goalie who wore no mask — ex-Ottawa Senators stopper Matt O'Connor — leaving the netminder's eye bloodied and hurt. Ligue Magnus handed Crinon a ban of seven games, while O'Connor took the additional step of bringing his own criminal complaint.
As rendered through Google Translate, the piece reports that the prosecutor in Grenoble has, citing that outlet, chosen to open proceedings against the player. The newspaper ties the matter to a Nov. 30th brawl in a league fixture, where Angers' goalkeeper Matt O'Connor filed a complaint after Crinon struck him.
The report continues that, despite the earlier dismissal of that complaint, it was watching Crinon reoffend at this year's Games that pushed the Grenoble official — again citing the paper — to pursue him on a charge of deliberate violence yielding an ITT below eight days (three in the Angers keeper's case), with the hearing fixed for the 27th of May in that city.
In France, the abbreviation ITT — a French legal phrase meaning total work incapacity — captures the idea of being wholly unable to work; it functions as a legal benchmark for gauging how grave the physical or mental injury from a crime is once it stops someone from doing their job.
For Crinon, with O'Connor kept from his job for only a trio of days, the charge amounts to a minor offense carrying a maximum 1,500-euro fine. Where a victim is kept from work at least eight days — the more serious tier — an offender could be looking at as long as a three-year prison stint plus a 45,000-euro fine.
To sum it up, Wilson not only cut Crinon's tournament short but also landed him in legal hot water at home. That's one more entry for his list of career achievements.
📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB