Former NHL referee accused of berating teenage referees at youth game

Former NHL referee Tim Peel has been accused of berating two teenage referees following a youth hockey game in Missouri. 

The two teenagers, Andrew Boren and Sean McGlynn, told Sean Gentille of The Athletic this week that Peel confronted them in the referees' room following a youth game made up primarily of 10-year-olds. 

Tensions were already running high in the game as two coaches were ejected and a group of parents were screaming at kids as they left the ice. Following the game Peel, who has a son on one of the teams and sometimes serves as an assistant coach in the league, approached the referees' room and forced his way inside where he berated the two 17-year-olds for 15-20 minutes and threatened their jobs within the league. 

According to the report, Peel was angry that the officials had ejected coaches Jamal Mayers and Matt Lashoff (former NHL players) during the game. 

After wedging his way into the referee's room, he reportedly said "do you know the f--- I am? You sit down and respect me." 

McGlynn said that when he reached for his phone to call 9-1-1 and then started to record a video, Peel's demeanor began to change and calm down. 

Peel declined to comment, while his lawyer said he did nothing inappropriate during the exchange. 

During his time as an NHL referee Peel was one of the most criticized and loathed officials in the league for consistently messing up big calls in big moments.

Just before he was set to retire a hot mic during a Nashville-Detroit game caught him saying that he knew a penalty against Nashville was not that bad, but that he was looking to call something against the Predators. That was seen by NHL fans as a confirmation that referees look to even things up and will referee to the score and penalty disparities. The league did not use him again after that.