Ševinský's Red Card Breaks Sparta in Clash with Lyon

Prague's Sparta arrived in Lyon holding a 2:1 aggregate lead from the first leg of the Champions League play-off, but lost that cushion just 20 minutes into the return leg — defender Adam Ševinský was shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on Lyon forward Loïc Openda.

Replays of the incident showed that Ševinský did indeed leave his hand on his opponent, though the contact itself was minimal. Even so, Polish referee Szymon Marciniak didn't hesitate and immediately produced the red card.

Experts weigh in

Former Czech national team defender Lukáš Pokorný, commenting on the match for Prima Sport, said Openda was cunning to go down from such light contact: "Openda took advantage of finding himself in front of Ševinský and hit the turf. It's a shame such details decide the outcome."

Former Sparta midfielder David Pavelka added that this kind of situation isn't unusual for Ševinský, given his tendency to over-commit in duels: "It's a pity the whole episode came from a cross he should have had time to prepare for."

Sparta coach Brian Priske stood up for his player: "I think Adam was simply unlucky. In my view he wasn't trying to foul, just to break away from his opponent, and caught him by accident. It was an unfortunate situation."

Match outcome

Down to ten men, Sparta still had chances before the break, but couldn't withstand Lyon's pressure in the second half. The players themselves admitted the red card proved more decisive for the outcome than even the hosts' opening goal, on which Prague goalkeeper Jakub Surovčík looked less than convincing.

Lyon went on to win the second leg 3:0 and progressed on aggregate, while Sparta drop out of the Champions League play-offs into the league phase of the Europa League.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz