`Brawl' clubs face charges

Ice hockey

Ice hockey

The British Ice Hockey Association is set to charge Durham Wasps and Humberside Hawks with bringing the game into disrepute following the scenes that caused the abandonment of the championship play-off game in Sunderland, writes Gwilym Lloyd.

The Hawks led 1-0 when police stopped the game after just 58 seconds, arresting six players. Frank Dempster, the BIHA disciplinary chairman, said: "There's a chance we will charge both clubs with disrepute and we're looking at the role of the two coaches as well. They too could face charges."

The decision to replay the game tomorrow night at either Nottingham or Blackburn has angered the Humberside chairman, Terry Geraghty. "How can they make that decision? We are going to the BIHA on Thursday with our lawyers. They can't do anything before then. We want them [Wasps] banned."

As for possible legal action following the pre-match incident when the Hawks defenceman, Bruce Bell, was allegedly set on by two Durham players, Geraghty has pledged full support for his player. "We will back him all the way through the courts," he said.

No one from the Durham club was available for comment.