Sweden's hockey team rage against referees after brutal tackle left player in wheelchair

[p]With 34 minutes gone on the clock, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sundqvist-oskar/KjgymSRo/"]Oskar Sundqvist[/a] was brutally tackled with a strong knee check by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/buO3jBAo/"]Switzerland[/a]'s national team forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/meier-timo/hjIkXUIJ/"]Timo Meier[/a] from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-jersey-devils/Kh0O591A/"]New Jersey Devils[/a]. [/p][p]Meier was fortunate to be handed a two-minute penalty and escaped a match penalty, while Sundqvist was carried out by his teammates. After the collision, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/johansson-albert/lh2PQY2m/"]Albert Johansson[/a] scuffled with Meier, and Johansson was also sent off to the immense frustration of the Swedes.[/p][p][b]"Unbelievably unfair. Cowardly referees. They don't dare to decide against the Swiss public. Really cowardly,"[/b] said the 18-year-old Ivar Stenberg to Swedish media "Aftonbladet". [b]"They had already given a five-minute penalty (against Dean Kukan, editor's note), so they didn't want to give another one."[/b][/p][embed guid="4dbb9ac0-07e2-401e-bf85-70ec98d712cf" url="https://x.com/Blick_Sport/status/2060099250311016539" social-type="twitter" /][p]Defenseman Mattias Ekholm was also certain that the match penalty given to Kukan in the 7th minute could have influenced the referee's decision in Meier's case. "Personally, I think it's a clear knee check," says the NHL player. [b]"I don't know if the referees got scared after the five-minute penalty in the first period. But hockey is hockey - you have to judge every situation for what it is."[/b][/p][p]After the Swedes took a 1-0 lead in the first period, the host nation managed to turn the tide and booked their ticket for the semi-final after a 3-1 win against the Scandinavians. [/p]