Slavia Prague could have clinched the title defense in the Czech First League this Saturday evening. However, while leading 3-2, a pitch invasion suddenly occurred with serious consequences. The league association has opened proceedings against both clubs.
With 71 points after 30 matchdays, reigning champions Slavia Prague had already pulled ahead of rivals Sparta during the regular season, only to virtually seal the deal in the championship round this Saturday evening. In the seventh minute of the ten-minute stoppage time, with the score at 3-2, the early title was within reach…
Until suddenly, numerous spectators from the stands stormed the field and the pitch. Corner flags were pulled out of their sockets, pyrotechnics were lit and even thrown. In the midst of it all: players running toward the tunnel, security personnel storming the field.
And also affected players like Sparta goalkeeper Jakub Surovcik, who had apparently been hit in the face and collapsed to the ground. In short: The 317th Prague Derby showed its ugliest side at the end of the day—and the early win of the Czech championship was, at least for the moment, gone for reigning champion Slavia.
“The greatest disgrace”
“We can’t claim any extenuating circumstances,” Slavia President Jaroslav Tvrdik stated on Saturday on the reigning champions’ website. Precisely because he expressed massive disappointment with his own supporters: “Our fans stormed the field and interrupted the game before it ended. The opposing team reported an attack on one or two players. I think it was justified that the game was called off. When I spoke with our players, they told me that we would have acted the same way in a similar situation. We can only apologize.“
”We must react in the future in such a way that situations like this simply do not happen again,” the former Czech Minister of Defense continued. “We were just three or four minutes away from the championship celebrations. I believe the players would have pulled it off. Instead, this is probably the greatest disgrace I’ve experienced in my eleven years with the club.”
The 57-year-old admitted he expects consequences from the league: “It’s now up to the LFA Disciplinary Committee. The game was disrupted through our fault; the interruption was caused by our fans. It is to be expected that the game will be ruled against us. We have to expect that. This has made our situation in the title race extremely difficult. I apologize again to everyone; I’m sorry.”
League Association Opens Proceedings
On Sunday, the Czech League Association informed the CTK news agency that its disciplinary committee had opened proceedings against both clubs; a ruling is expected on Tuesday. In addition to the match being ruled a loss, Slavia faces a stadium ban and heavy fines. The committee chairman stated that they would “proceed with the utmost severity.” The decision must send a clear signal that such behavior will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
In an initial statement, the league association had announced that the behavior of the home fans, who not only stormed the field before the final whistle but also attacked opposing players, constituted a completely unacceptable incident. “Physical attacks on players, members of the coaching staff, or other individuals involved in the match represent a crossing of a line that we were convinced could not occur in Czech professional soccer,” the statement read.
Should Sparta indeed be awarded the victory by default, the rival would trail title holder Slavia by just five points with three matchdays remaining in the championship round.