KHL video referee receives lifetime ban for not overturning illegal goal

Feb 25, 2026 (1:27 PM)

Photo credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Andrei Pedan's "goal" sparked a KHL referee lifetime ban, and it still feels brutal.

This happened in SKA St. Petersburg vs Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, a tight 2-1 game that hinged on one weird moment.

In the 46th minute, Pedan fired a shot that ended up credited as a good goal on the ice.

Replay angles showed the puck didn't legally cross the goal line, it slipped through a gap in the side netting.

The key detail is process, the arena video official had a mandatory 60-second pause to verify the scoring play.

Instead, the orange light got turned off and the bad goal stayed on the board, no correction.

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KHL's response was swift, the league said the video review specialist is permanently barred from working KHL games.

That is a career ender over a single missed review window, and it's why this clip keeps bouncing around hockey social.

Fans are split right down the middle, some want real accountability, others feel the punishment doesn't fit the mistake.

Pedan is not some kid either, he's 32, drafted in 2011, Round 3, by the New York Islanders.

This wasn't about a bang-bang call at the blue paint, it was about the league's own review protocol failing.

It also raises a scary question for every team, if the review room can miss something that obvious, what else slips through.

The KHL clearly wanted to send a message that "video judge" means zero excuses when the cameras hand you the answer.

Now every close KHL finish has that extra edge, because one wrong light can turn into the harshest discipline in hockey.

Previously on HockeyLatest

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FEVRIER 25\|50 ANSWERS KHL video referee receives lifetime ban for not overturning illegal goal Should the KHL keep the lifetime ban for this bad goal review?
Yes	33	66 %
No	17	34 %
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