Semir Ben-Amor (born May 6, 1982) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who last played for

Ässät Ässät or Ässä may refer to: * HC Ässät Pori Oy, Finnish sports club ** Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) ** Porin Ässät (women's ice hockey) ** Porin Ässät (men's football) ** PATA (esports) *, Finnish band from Oulu *S Group, Finnish Con ...

of the

SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...

. Ben-Amor was born and raised in

Tapiola Tapiola (; sv, ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Greater Helsinki. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from '' Tapio'', w ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

, Finland. Ben-Amor was a key player in the 2012 notorious practice game between

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

and Jokerit, where multiple long suspensions were given for violent and unsportsmanlike behavior to players as well as coaches from both teams. Ben-Amor was given the longest suspension of 18 games for checking

Ville Peltonen Ville Sakari Peltonen (born 24 May 1973) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey forward. Peltonen was drafted by the San Jose Sharks as their third round pick, 58th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. During his pr ...

from a blind spot in the middle of the ice, and then beating him while he was down and rendering him unconscious. Reportedly, someone from Jokerit's command told Ben-Amor to take him down, and the league gave the head and assisting coach both a suspension of eight games with clear signs of encouraging players to break the rules. Ben-Amor denies this, saying it was his own decision, but he regrets how it ultimately happened. In December 2012, he was fined €3,540 for assault. His 18-game suspension remains the third longest in the league's history, behind Ari Lähteenmäki's 27-game suspension in 1986 for cross-checking and violence, and Jere Karalahti's 22-game suspension in 1997 for the use of drugs.

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* 1982 births Living people Finnish ice hockey forwards Finnish people of Tunisian descent Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) players Danbury Trashers players Espoo Blues players Jokerit players Louisiana IceGators (ECHL) players Lukko players HC Salamat players Richmond RiverDogs players Ice hockey people from Helsinki {{Finland-icehockey-winger-stub