Three of the four on-ice officials for the gold medal hockey game are Canadian and the fourth lives in Canada

Three of the four on-ice officials for the gold medal hockey game are Canadian and the fourth lives in Canada. (TheSpec) By Dave Feschuk

SOCHI, RUSSIA It does, on the face of it, seem a little lop-sided.

Of the four on-ice officials assigned to work Sunday's Olympic gold-medal game between Canada and Sweden, three are Canadian-born.

This fact hasn't gone unnoticed in Scandinavia. Peter Forsberg, the penalty-shootout hero of Sweden's 1994 gold-medal victory over Canada at the Lillehammer Olympics, reportedly texted a Swedish newspaper to register his dismay about the passport count.

"What a f---ing joke!" was Forsberg's reported two cents.

Perhaps it doesn't help that the one official who can't claim Canada as a birthplace — U.S.-bred referee Brad Meier — lives in Calgary. Meier will be on the ice for the gold-medal climax along with fellow referee Kelly Sutherland of Richmond, B.C. The assigned linesmen are Derek Amell of Port Colborne, Ont., and Greg Devorski of Guelph. All four men make their living presiding over NHL games.

Swedish coach Par Marts said he is not concerned with the North American officiating, which is assigned by the International Ice Hockey Federation and approved by both teams.

"I don't care," said Swedish coach. "I hope they do their job. That's all I can focus on. I can't change it. No problem with that."