Horý’s fourth red card: Czech football legends on Slavia striker

Prague’s Slavia striker Tomáš Horý has been sent off in the top flight for the fourth time in under a year and a half. This time the cause was an obscene gesture aimed at Jan Všetečka. Coach Jindřich Trpišovský said Horý will not play for Slavia again: on Tuesday the forward did not take part in the Champions League match at Fenerbahçe because of the Sunday scandal.

Four red cards in a little over a year

Horý has long had a reputation as a “bad boy”, but in the shirts of Olomouc and Viktoria Plzeň he avoided red cards, although in his clashes with Sparta’s Asger Sørensen he may simply have been lucky. At Slavia he hardly made a mark in his first year, but since the start of last season he has collected four red cards: a kick to Milan Heča’s groin, an alleged spit at Sampson Dweh, an elbow at the same Sørensen and now a gesture aimed at Všetečka.

Former Viktoria teammate Pavel Petržela is looking for reasons: “Maybe someone is egging him on in the dressing room… In Plzeň we knew how to rein him in. When he lost it, we stopped him quickly, and after the match the council of elders dealt with him. Adolf Šádek could also hold Tomáš back: the team had an excellent relationship with him, and he was respected. There is too much going on now, and it hurts me. The atmosphere in the team may play a part as well.”

“He needs a psychologist”

Former referee Krolec admitted he had never seen such behavior from players: “This man should do some soul-searching. Honza Všetečka, on the other hand, deserves praise: he reacted instantly and correctly.”

Veteran coach Petr Rada, himself no angel and someone who got along well with troublemakers, was also sharp. “He is making his own life difficult. I think he should see a psychologist. Though he could say the same about me,” Rada joked. “I liked players like that and I would have handled him: twice, and that’s enough, he would not have played again.” He compared Horý with Jan Koller, the Czech national team’s all-time top scorer: “Horý keeps clutching his head and falling down. Koller didn’t do that and never allowed such excesses.”

The gesture came right after Horý went down in a duel with the equally tall Tomáš Petrášek. All three, Petržela, Krolec and Rada, were gathered at the presentation of Jaroslav Kolář’s book “League of 100 Champions” about a hundred years of Czech football championships.

In everyday life, though, Horý is no madman: according to Petržela, he is “a very good person”, a father of two daughters, a beloved teammate and an important member of the dressing room. “It’s a terrible pity for him, I really feel sorry,” Petržela repeated, and advised the forward to move abroad: “He would step away for a while and the water would settle.” Czech football is once again discussing Horý’s meltdown, and, as the speakers see it, quite deservedly.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz