Cardiff Devils left red-faced after swear word appears on arena big screen

By Matt Skinner

FANS of Cardiff Devils did a collective double-take on Saturday night when their stadium big screen flashed up the F-word by mistake.

As their team took on Belfast Giants at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay, Devils followers were ‘treated’ to a competition message that urged them to ‘Grab your f***s now for a chance to win NHL22’.

The offending word should, of course, have read ‘pucks’ instead, and although it was swiftly corrected it was too late to stop the error being spotted and given the obligatory social media airing.

While obviously offensive, the faux pas has been taken in good spirits by fans of the Elite Ice Hockey League team.

Oliver Hampson, media manager for the Devils, was keen to point out it was put right as quickly as possible once they were told.

“It was an unfortunate mishap caused by an issue with a broken panel on the screen which was quickly rectified once we spotted it” he said.

“We’ve not had any complaints as a result, only some good-hearted jokes from fans.”

The incident came as the Devils beat Giants 3 – 2 in the first of what was a weekend double header. They went down to a 5 – 2 defeat to EIHL champions Nottingham Panthers on Sunday evening at the Nottingham Arena.

Devils’ next game at the IAW is against Manchester Storm on Sunday, October 24.

Tickets are available from the club website https://www.cardiffdevils.com/tickets/book-online/