Čtvrtek 28. března 2024, svátek má Soňa
130 let

Lidovky.cz

Czech public show yellow card to football bosses

  14:44

The Czech national football association is not too happy with the negative results from a survey about public perceptions of the sport

Czech football authorities appear to have scored an own goal when they commissioned a survey about public perceptions of the sport.

The survey carried out for The Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR) by the STEM/Mark agency suggests that the image of the game has been tarnished so much by corruption, other scandals, and players’ behavior that only 57 percent of survey respondents believe the game to be trustworthy.

The survey showed 45 percent believed that corruption had tainted the game with a further 12 percent turned off by players’ antics on and off the field. A thousand people were questioned for the survey.

‘I am, of course, unpleasantly surprised by this. We will carefully analyze the results.’

“I am, of course, unpleasantly surprised by this. We will carefully analyze the results,” FAČR general secretary Rudolf Řepka told Czech media.

Scandals around Czech football clubs and the national association have been frequent over recent years. A bribery scandal blew up over the top clubs Olomouc and Bohemians Prague, an attempt by the national association to elect a new boss ended in farce mid-September with the issue still unresolved, and the secrecy and machinations over the ownership of Slavia Prague culminated with a pitch invasion by discontented fans last season.

A new attempt to vote in a head of the national association should take place on November 17.

Czech bank Česká spořitelna, one of the main sponsors of the Czech football association, says it is sticking by the game. Marketing manager Daniel Šturm told Hospodářské noviny that the survey results were fuel for further reflection about the cooperation.