France’s Olympic hockey team has kicked one of their players out of the tournament after fighting with Canada’s Tom Wilson over the weekend.
Pierre Crinon, a French defenceman, made sure Sunday’s 10-2 loss to Canada ended with some fireworks. After laying a questionable hit on Nathan MacKinnon in the third period, the 30-year-old Crinon dropped the gloves with Wilson in a rare Olympic hockey fight.
OLYMPIC HOCKEY FIGHT 👀
Tom Wilson and France’s Pierre Crinon go at it and each receive a game misconduct 🚨 pic.twitter.com/s5dyIstpjD
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 15, 2026
Both players were handed game misconducts and were cleared of any additional discipline from Olympic officials after the fact. However, it was the French Ice Hockey Federation that made the decision to remove Crinon from France’s Olympic team.
The federation made the announcement on Monday afternoon.
“The FFHG intends to remind everyone of the values of every player wearing the French national team jersey and their duty to set an example, particularly during the Olympic Games,” a translated version of the press release read.
“Pierre Crinon’s provocative behaviour upon leaving the ice, even though he had just been ejected from the game for fighting, constitutes a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
Communiqué suite à Canada – France ⤵️https://t.co/w2Jw70OyXR
— Équipes de France Hockey 🏒 (@Hockey_FRA) February 16, 2026
It appears that Crinon’s removal from the French Olympic team has less to do with the actual fight with Wilson and more to do with how the defenceman handled himself after being ejected from the game.
A video from X user John McAllister showing that Crinon egged on the crowd as he left the ice surface.
Pierre Crinon taking on the role of villain today. Slightly irrelevant at 10-2 to Canada …. pic.twitter.com/sDV5dZCA4i
— John McAllister (@john_mcal) February 15, 2026
It would appear this would fit the criteria for a player violating the ‘Olympic spirit’, as Crinon had already been ejected from the game and didn’t gain anything from engaging with the Canadian fans.
Crinon has spent the last five years playing with Grenoble in France, where he had two goals and nine points in 29 games this season. This was his first time playing in the Olympics, where he finished with just one assist and 33 penalty minutes in three games.
It’s likely that this ban will cause Crinon to miss just one game, as France is set to play a qualifying round elimination game against a highly favoured German team on Tuesday morning.