Although their team was on the verge of securing the Czech championship, a faction of Slavia supporters had other plans, leading to a significant scandal.
A pitch invasion accompanied by the throwing of pyrotechnics, and apparently violence against players, by Slavia Prague fans resulted in the abandonment of the 317th derby against arch-rivals Sparta. This act prevented their club from prematurely winning the Czech football championship on Saturday evening.
With Slavia leading 3-2 in the seventh minute of added time, and only about three minutes remaining, numerous fans stormed the field. They appeared to deliberately throw a significant number of flares towards the Sparta section. The match was subsequently abandoned. Players from both teams immediately retreated to their dressing rooms, and the visiting team later departed the stadium by bus.
Sparta Reports ‘Attack on One or Two Players’
«We cannot claim any mitigating circumstances. Our fans stormed the pitch and interrupted the game before its conclusion. The opposing side reported an attack on one or two players. I believe it was justified that the game was abandoned,» Slavia President Jaroslav Tvrdik was quoted as saying on the reigning champion’s website.
«When I spoke with our players, they told me that we would have acted the same way in a similar situation. We can only apologize.»
Tvrdik Calls it ‘Greatest Shame I’ve Experienced in Eleven Years at the Club’
«We must react in the future in such a way that such situations simply do not happen again,» the former Czech Minister of Defence further explained. «We were only three or four minutes away from championship celebrations. I believe the players would have managed it. Instead, it is perhaps the greatest shame I have experienced in eleven years at the club.»
The 57-year-old admitted he now expects consequences from the league. «It is now up to the Disciplinary Committee of the LFA. The match was disturbed due to our fault, the interruption was caused by our fans. It is to be expected that the game will be forfeited to our disadvantage. We must prepare for that. Our situation in the title race has become extremely difficult as a result. I apologize again to everyone, I am sorry.»