Slavia's Sporting Director Defends Horký After Controversial Head-Kick Incident with Rival Goalkeeper

During a Czech league match against Brno's Zbrojovka, Slavia Prague forward Tomáš Horký clipped the head of opposing goalkeeper Ondřej Gerdina with his foot. The incident occurred in the 60th minute; neither the referee on the pitch nor the VAR official spotted any foul, and play resumed after a brief stoppage to treat the goalkeeper.

The moment came right after Gerdina had made a spectacular save off a shot from Daniel Šturm. As the goalkeeper lay on the ground, Horký, who was closing in for a possible rebound, stepped backward and caught his head with his foot.

Slavia's Director: "He's a Dinosaur"

The club's sporting director, Vladimír Kovář, himself a former goalkeeper, came to the striker's defense on the Tiki-Taka program. "We didn't even look at scratches like that. The guy's a dinosaur — just look at how he moves, it's a disaster. We checked the incident from several angles, VAR was involved, and Ms. Adámková was on duty — she's honest and always catches everything. She didn't think anything had happened there," Kovář said.

Sitting beside him, former midfielder Pavel Horváth wasn't entirely convinced but declined to go into detail: "That's not movement. Dinosaurs didn't walk like that."

Former footballer Pavel Karoch was more critical on the Sport.cz program Tuce: "That's behavior that perfectly matches the surname Horký [which sounds like 'sick' in Czech]. He's moving forward, yet he still kicks backward with his heel and catches Gerdina in the head. Sure, there wasn't much force behind it. But there's simply no place for that on the pitch. VAR could have considered a potential red card, and Horký would have had nothing to argue," Karoch noted.

Turning Down 121 Million Crowns

The question of Horký's future at Slavia had been debated for a long time, with a final decision only reached last week. Viktoria Plzeň had shown serious interest in the player and was ready to pay around 5 million euros (121 million crowns), including bonuses.

"It's true, they wanted him very badly. But we consider Plzeň our main rival in the title race," Kovář explained, citing one of the reasons behind the club's refusal. According to him, the squad has undergone major changes — Staněk, Bořil, and Douděra have all left — and Slavia now has the youngest roster in the league, one that needs experienced players to balance it out.

"Last season Tomáš Horký had 21 points [goals plus assists] and was leading us toward the title. Right now we can't imagine the team without him. We can see in the dressing room that everyone follows his lead. If it were purely about the offer, it was more than good. But taking everything else into account, we turned it down with gratitude. We believe Tomáš will help us achieve new victories on the pitch," the sporting director added.

A Difficult Few Months After the Derby Against Sparta

Horký has been through a rough patch since the May derby against Sparta, in which he was sent off. At the time, club president Jaroslav Tvrdík temporarily suspended both him and fellow ejected player David Douděra from the squad. While Douděra's situation was quickly resolved with his transfer (he moved to Cincinnati), Horký stayed at the club — backed by the dressing room, coach Jindřich Trpišovský, his teammates, and club owner Pavel Tykač.

Slavia ultimately turned down Plzeň's offer as well. The match against Zbrojovka marked Horký's first start in a long while — before that, he had come on as a substitute three times. Horký scored twice in the match against Brno.

Read also: Brno: what to see and where to go

Source: sport.cz