WATCH: Junior Hockey League Player Savagely KO’s Referee and Gets Banned for Life

Hockey has never been one to preach “keep your hands to yourself” when it comes to fighting on the ice, but attacking the referee is still frowned upon.

A junior hockey player was banned for life this week after he punched a referee in the face, viciously knocking him to the ice during an altercation that was caught on camera.

20-year-old Paul Halloran of the USPHL’s South Shore Kings can be seen shoving an official after they collided in front of the team’s bench. The referee immediately blew his whistle and emphatically pointed to the penalty box.

https://twitter.com/tarpsoffmclovin/status/1495465484128501763

As Halloran began to make his way toward the penalty box, he struck the official with a violent right hook. After the ref fell to the ice, he got back up rather quickly, extended his arms out and appeared baffled by the punch. The league, however, was not perplexed and responded swiftly by hitting Halloran with a lifetime ban.

“The USPHL has zero tolerance for any player striking any official, at any time,” USPHL Commissioner Bob Turrow wrote in a statement. “The player in question’s actions have led to a lifetime ban. The incident is currently being investigated by local authorities and as such the USPHL will have no further comments at this time.”

Sports officiating is largely a thankless job. Players and fans rarely talk about how well the officials performed after games. If referees are a topic of conversation, it’s usually because fans and teams are calling for their jobs. But assaulting an official? We can all agree that’s taking the critical analysis too far.