Hockey prodigy’s name cleared posthumously
Published 17 January, 2009, 08:53
KHL has thrown light on the details of Aleksey Cherepanov's tragic death. He was not guilty of taking illegal substances. The league names Avangard’s management and doctors’ negligence as the main reasons of the tragedy.
More than three months have passed since young ice hockey star Aleksey Cherepanov collapsed during his side Avangard's game against Vityaz in the Moscow region.
Even following this relatively long period the tragedy had produced more questions than answers.
The league has been claiming they wanted to be a hundred percent sure about every fact which was going to come out after the investigation, and eventually the decision was made.
Cherepanov had been suffering from a chronic heart problem and the doctors had used some treatments to try to improve his health. In fact, he wasn’t guilty of doping, but with the disease he had, he should’ve stopped playing hockey immediately. Avangard’s doctors are now saying they were not aware of that.
As retribution for this gross negligence all of Avangard's medical staff has been banned for two years. However, the KHL decided it was the Omsk club's management who was even guiltier. The league banned both club president Konstantin Potapov and general manager Anatoly Bardin for life.
It was also stated that the emergency services at the match could’ve done much more to save Cherepanov’s life.
Eight whole pages of details about how the group could have helped Cherepanov were presented by the special investigative committee. The fault of course rests on them as well. Cherepanov should not only have not played in the tragic match, but also he should not have appeared on the ice this season at all.
So the whipping boys have been found, but who can guarantee this disaster won't happen again with some other player?
“We are aiming to check all KHL players on their physical ability to play hockey. You know it's a very difficult procedure. We haven't found any examples of that anywhere else in the world. So we are now taking guidance from the space industry – The players will be checked out as if they were cosmonauts,” head of KHL medical department Nikolay Durmanov said.
The investigation is finished. The negligent will be punished, and will likely never forget this incident for the rest of their lives, but it is no consolation for Aleksey Cherepanov’s family.
The youngster would've turned 20 on Thursday.
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