HELSINKI – The IIHF Disciplinary panel handed out a four-game suspension to France’s forward Sasha Treille for a hit to the head-and-neck area of Kazakhstan’s forward Roman Starchenko.

This is the harshest suspension in the modern era for an individual on-ice incident and further underscores the IIHF’s commitment to eliminate hits to the head and neck area. The only other comparable suspension occurred at the semi-finals of the 2006 IIHF World Championship when Sweden’s Mika Hannula cross-checked Canada’s Sidney Crosby from behind. Hannula was suspended for the final game and in the summer was given four more games. In addition to missing today’s game against Canada because of the automatic suspension that goes with his match penalty, Treille will be excluded from the remaining four games of the round robin tournament in Helsinki. As a result, the only way he could play again at this year’s event would be in the unlikely event that France, 1-1 in its first two games, managed to qualify for the quarter-finals. The incident happened at 9:31 of the second period of France’s 6-3 win over Kazakhstan on Sunday, May 6. On the play – a shattering neutral zone hit to the head of the Kazakh player – Treille was given a major and match penalty. Starchenko was diagnosed with a severe concussion and is unlikely to compete again at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The incident was reviewed by the IIHF's disciplinary panel and was followed by a hearing with the player on Monday morning. The decision was announced on Monday afternoon. The two-man Disciplinary Panel at the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship consists of Jeff Sauer (based in Helsinki) and Dan Marouelli (Stockholm).