Acadie-Baturst forward Ludovic Kabambi was the target of an inappropriate comment made by Gatineau Olympiques forward Samuel Courtemanche. Courtemanche has been suspended for the comment. (QMJHL)

Gatineau Olympiques forward Samuel Courtemanche has been suspended for two games for inappropriate comments directed towards a player on the Acadie-Bathurst Titans.

The comments, during a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game on Sunday in Bathurst, were made toward Ludovic Kabambi, who is from the Congo.

The league has also fined the Olympiques $500, and is requesting Courtemanche extend a formal apology to Kabambi.

“The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League created an anti-discrimination policy in December of 2006 in order to ban all forms of discrimination," said Gilles Courteau, the QMJHL’s commissioner.

"Our policy is based on the principle of zero tolerance and it applies to all comments which are deemed inappropriate. All of our participants must be treated with respect and dignity."

At a Titan practice Wednesday morning, head coach Eric Dubois said he knew the incident was serious from Kabambi's reaction.

"I don't think there's a place for that kind of comment on the ice. I understand why sometimes it happens. You know, it's just to get under the skin of an adversary, try to get the guy off of his game," he said.

"So, I understand that sometime it might happen, but there's no place for that."

Kabambi is keen to put the issue behind him, but he said this isn't the first he's experienced such language during a game. Nor does he think it will be the last time.

"I think there is going to be a lot of language like that. But you can't control that, the league's going to [handle] the consequence for that," he said.

The coach said an additional punishment for Courtemanche's choice of words will be the fact he will always be remembered for using them.

"He might not be racist, that's the worst thing. But people will always assume that because he made those comments that he could be a racist," Dubois said.

He is happy with the punishment the league settled on. But if racial slurs continue to be a problem, Dubois said they may need to stiffen the penalty.

The National Hockey League recently suspended a player for making inappropriate comments during a game.

Florida Panthers forward Krys Barch was suspended for a game in connection with an incident in the team's home game on Dec. 31 against Montreal.

Barch was banished from that contest against the Canadiens when, according to a report in the Miami Herald, one of the linesman heard him direct a racial slur towards P.K. Subban, who is black, in a scrum.