Alexander Radulov on Talking to Referees

"Refereeing calls happen in every sport. But he's a person too. The match is far from over. There are situations where you can't exactly influence him, but you can discuss something with him, say something to him, and at some point he'll start looking at things a little differently. Psychology," the 40-year-old Lokomotiv forward said on the show "Vsyo, krome khokkeya".

Radulov gave a specific example from this year's play-offs. He said he was hit with a stick during play, doubled over in pain for a second, then jumped up as the game continued. When the whistle went, he skated over to the referee. "Listen, there were two clean penalties there. Look, I've got a graze right here. I couldn't have done that to myself. I got it in the battle, that's a clean hit," he told the official, who at first waved it off: "No, that's it, Sanya, there was nothing there." Radulov asked him to review it at the next break. Skating out for the third period, the same referee passed him and admitted: "Sanya, sorry, my mistake. I missed it. Yes, it was there, I missed it."

"I thought, right, got it. He's more open to it now. Well, not exactly receptive, but it seems to me that it can influence or change a decision in another passage of play. Or if you break the rules afterwards, they might turn a blind eye," Radulov said.