Slovak football brawl: steward knocks down visiting player

A third-league match in Slovakia between Čadca and Rimavská Sobota ended in scandal: in the closing minutes a steward knocked visiting player Stanislav Morháč to the ground with a push of his hand, after which both benches ran onto the pitch. Only the visiting players received red cards, and the incident is still to be examined by the disciplinary committee.

It all began, Morháč says, after the goal that made it 2:2: the visitors claimed offside, and the steward, the player alleges, was already abusing them over their nationality. Later, when a throw-in had to be taken, none of the ball boys had a ball.

A row by the halfway line

Morháč demanded a ball and then walked up to the steward by the halfway line; according to the match report, the exchange of words continued. The steward pushed him away with his hand. The hosts insist the player had stepped on his foot beforehand; the video seems to show light contact. Morháč denies it: he says they merely touched toes, and that he neither kicked nor stepped on him.

The player went down, and the steward also clutched his leg. Both benches rushed over, and Čadca assistant coach Tomáš Tlelka ran to the fallen Morháč. It took several minutes and several red cards, all shown to the visitors, before tempers calmed.

What the sides say

A Rimavská Sobota defender does not understand why only his team was sent off and believes the match should be awarded to the visitors by forfeit because of the assault on a player. Čadca’s Czech coach Benjamin Vomáčka regretted the heated finish: in his words, such things do not belong on the pitch, and after the equaliser and at 3:2 the emotions were unnecessary. He declined to judge the incident itself, saying he had not seen it well, but noted that a player should not be arguing with a steward off the pitch.

Vomáčka was nevertheless pleased with the three points: Čadca are newcomers to the third league, Střed group, and are doing very well. They are especially strong at home: in five matches on their own pitch the team has scored 21 goals.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz