Defeat instead of championship?
©IMAGO
By storming the pitch with pyrotechnics and apparently also attacking players, fans of Slavia Prague caused the 317th Czech derby against Sparta Prague to be abandoned. The scandal prevented her team from winning the championship early.
After an exciting game it was 3-2 for Slavia before chaos broke out. Numerous supporters ran onto the pitch with Bengalos. Pyrotechnics were even thrown from the grass into the stands. “Three or four minutes separated us from the championship celebrations, I think the players could have done that,” said Slavia president Jaroslav Tvrdik. “Instead, it is probably the biggest disgrace I have experienced in eleven years at the club.”
The opponent reported an attack on one or two players. He thought it was legitimate that the game was abandoned. “When I spoke to our players, they said that if something similar had happened to us with them, we would have behaved the same way,” Tvrdik said. “We cannot claim any extenuating circumstances. All we can do is apologize.”
The case is now with the league’s disciplinary committee, and the points will probably go to the opponent. “It is to be expected that the game will be scored against us,” said the Slavia president. Before the break, Slavia had made up for two deficits through Jan Kuchta (22nd) and Asger Sörensen (47th) through Oscar (31st minute), Stepan Chaloupek (52nd) and David Zima (53rd) and received two dismissals for Tomas Chory and David Doudera in the 59th and 92nd minutes – before the storm began.
The league association said in a statement that the behavior of the home fans, who not only stormed the pitch before the final whistle but also attacked opposing players, was a completely unacceptable incident. “Physical attacks on players, members of the coaching staff or other people involved in the game represent a transgression of a limit that we were convinced could not occur in Czech professional football,” it said.
Such behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstances and is damaging to the entire Czech football. “Neither an emotionally charged atmosphere nor sporting rivalry can ever serve as an excuse for such behavior.”
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