Slavia Prague striker Chorý sent off for gesture at referee

Slavia Prague striker Tomáš Chorý was shown a red card in the 55th minute of the Czech league match against Hradec Králové (0-0) for an obscene gesture aimed at referee Jan Všetečka. Coach Jindřich Trpišovský said Chorý will not travel to Istanbul for the Champions League game against Fenerbahçe.

The incident came shortly after a collision with Hradec defender Tomáš Petrášek: the two six-and-a-half-foot players crashed into each other, and it was Chorý who stayed down on the pitch. After getting up he kept protesting, then showed the referee his middle finger, right as play was stopped. Všetečka was looking straight at him and immediately pulled out the red card. Slavia had to play on with ten men.

“I will never understand this. He clearly let us down and cost us points,” Trpišovský said on Oneplay Sport. The coach usually looks for mitigating circumstances for his players, but this time he was categorical: “He won’t fly with us. Let him think about himself.” By his own account he is “disappointed, stunned, dejected” and does not even want to see the player.

A long list of offences

Chorý faces a severe punishment: on Thursday the disciplinary committee may ban him for at least five matches, possibly more, as he will be treated as a repeat offender. Since September 2024, when Chorý was first sent off in the league, his behavior has spiraled out of control.

Last August he struck Slovan goalkeeper Ječa in the groin in a fit of rage and missed six matches. In April this year he spat at Plzeň’s Dweh and received a red card, but convinced the committee that the saliva flew out accidentally in the heat of a challenge, and sat out one match. In the spring derby he elbowed Sparta’s Sørensen, earning another six-match ban. Club chairman Jaroslav Tvrdík told him that same night to look for another club.

Why he was kept in the summer

In the summer the club nevertheless pardoned the forward. Slavia owner Pavel Tykač reportedly slammed his fist on the table and insisted the striker stay: the coaching staff could not imagine the team without its top scorer, and the players pleaded on his behalf. Chorý promised to mend his ways, and the club even talked about extending his contract.

“For everyone who supported him and fought for him to stay, this is a terrible disappointment,” Trpišovský said. After Saturday’s incident, in the view of the author of this commentary, the club should part ways with the player in the winter transfer window. For now he has been suspended from the team.

This season Chorý has scored four goals in seven league matches and won the high-profile game against Plzeň with a decisive penalty, but he has not shown his usual sharpness, and in two Champions League games he was barely noticeable. He joined Slavia in the summer of 2024 from Plzeň for almost 80 million crowns and scored 31 league goals in two seasons, effectively securing two championship titles. But he has already been sent off four times. Only Pavel Řezák has more red cards in Slavia’s history. After round 11, Slavia remains unbeaten at the top of the table, but is playing unconvincingly.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz