An ice hockey referee was forced to leave the rink in a match at the Winter Olympics with blood streaming from her face after being accidentally whacked by a stick.
Cianna Lieffers was one of the officials in charge of the match between Team USA and Canada – two global powerhouses of the game with a rivalry stretching back more than 20 years.
With that in mind she might have expected to have to deal with some needle between the two great rivals.
What she probably didn't anticipate was being the victim of an accidental whack from American player Amanda Kessel, whose wayward stick caught Lieffers right in the face.
With players from both sides battling for possession of the puck behind the Canadian goal, Kessel was skating away from the area when her raised stick slashed the face of the referee who was positioned up against the wall.
Lieffers turned away in agony holding the area above her top lip, before skating off the rink to receive medical attention.
A cloth she was using to apply pressure to her wound was covered in blood as she made her way off the ice, before cameras later picked up a nasty-looking cut above her lip as she sat on the sidelines.
It didn't keep her out of the action for long, though, for as soon as she had stemmed the flow of the bleeding she was back in the rink to resume her duties.
Kessel is believed to have apologised to Lieffers for accidentally causing the wound.
All in it was a match for the American and her team-mates to forget, as they squandered a 2-1 lead to lose 4-2 to their rivals.
In doing so they surrendered the No.1 seed spot to Canada, who now have the best position heading into the playoff round.
As the two tournament favourites, though, they are expected to meet again next week to contest the gold medal match – so long as neither side is on the receiving end of a major upset before then.
