Czech fans face jail time over racial taunts towards Wayne Simmonds

Wayne Simmonds has spent the lockout with Liberec of the Czech League, scoring four goals and six points in six games. While on the road playing rival Chomutov in October, some fans began chanting “Opice! Opice!” (“monkey”) towards Simmonds, and some of them now face jail time for their ignorant remarks.

According to Czech news outlet iDNES.cz, a collection of eight fans were charged over the matter and will face a hearing on Jan. 9, 2013. They could receive as many as three years in prison.

Those involved were found out through videos of the event.

Simmonds left the team Tuesday and returned to Canada, citing family reasons.

Last September in a pre-season game against Detroit in London, Ont., a fan threw a banana at Simmonds as he was taking his shot in the shootout.