May 13 (UPI) -- The National Hockey League suspended "indefinitely" Florida Panthers minority owner Doug Cifu from all league activities and team involvement after a string of "inappropriate" social media posts to a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
According to the NHL, an in-person meeting will be scheduled between Cifu and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at a "date to be determined."
The incident occurred Sunday night following the Panthers' 2-0 win over Toronto's Leafs in which Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky logged 23 saves in the team's victory in Sunrise, Fla.
"Hey whats worse, using head shots to win a series or using starvation to win a war?" a Leafs fan posted.
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The dig was targeted at Panther hits and Israel's ongoing war in Gaza that several international human rights watchdog groups such as Amnesty International and nations such as South Africa, Egypt and North Korea have deemed genocide against Palestinian civilians.
"Eat (expletive) 51st state anti semite loser. Israel now and forever. Until ever (sic) last Hamas rat is eliminated," Cifu later countered in his series of now-deleted posts in a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump saying Canada should be annexed by the United States as its 51st state.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Trump last Tuesday at the White House where the newly-elected Liberal Party leader told Trump in no uncertain terms during their Oval Office meeting that Canada would never be for sale as Trump similarly threatened the sovereignty of other countries such as Panama and Denmark's autonomous Greenland.
Shortly afterward Sunday night, Cifu's X account went private and was later deactivated.
Cifu, who has been minority owner and vice chairman since 2013 when its primary team owner Vinny Viola purchased the Florida Panthers, later expressed regret in a statement via the Panthers.
"Two days ago, I posted regrettable and inflammatory comments on social media," he said in his statement.
On Monday night, NHL officials suspended him from all team involvement.
"The NHL has concluded that Mr. Cifu's X posts were unacceptable and inappropriate," the league wrote in a statement. "As a result, Mr. Cifu has been suspended indefinitely from any involvement with the Club and the NHL."
Cifu, who also sits as alternate governor of team owner Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, stated that his behavior "does not reflect the standards of the Florida Panthers organization and the Viola family."
Vincent Viola, the billionaire founder of digital stock trading firm Virtu Financial and team owner, was originally nominated in 2016 by Trump to be U.S. Army secretary, but Viola withdrew his name from consideration in February 2017 over difficulty in divesting himself from his business interests.
"I sincerely apologize to all those affected by my comments," Cifu added. "I am committed to working with the NHL to amend my actions."
