Racism again. The coach of Bohemians’ young players received a ten-month band-aid

We are talking about the beginning of the second half of Saturday’s match of the Czech youth division of group C. “Red card during the match. Using abusive, insulting or degrading statements or gestures. “Insulting the home coach in an uninterrupted game with the derogatory expression ‘you z*de gypsy’,” reads the decision of the Disciplinary Committee of the Steering Committee for the Czech Republic.

Novotný was guilty of violating section 54. It states that whoever publicly defames, discriminates or humiliates another because of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief or world view or on the basis of another particularly reprehensible motives, will be punished with a ban on activity for one month to fifteen years or a fine of up to CZK 100,000.

Although the 60-year-old coach of teenagers from Bohemians did not receive the highest possible rate, the verdict is: 10 months unconditionally and a fine of 10,000. Novotný can still appeal, but if he fails, he will not look at the bench until February 25, 2025. It will definitely not make it easier for him that the statement towards Náchod’s coach Jan Hubko was clearly recorded by cameras and microphones.

This is the second similar case in Czech football in the last few weeks. On Monday, the Appeals Commission of the FAČR reduced the originally eight-month sentence of Dukla’s second-league coach Petar Rada for racist insults against the now-former Brno coach Tomáš Polách.

He called his counterpart a “gypsy despairer”. The council is not allowed to sit on the bench during competitive matches for three months, but he was fined 80,000. “Everyone perceives that they have reduced my sentence, but I am still disappointed. I don’t deny it, I’ve had some excesses, but this is cruel in two words. They left my financial fine at the original amount, which is also inadequate,” Rada told Sport.cz.

“The words were definitely not right. But to receive such a punishment for them… I grew up in a different time, I can’t move in this one. I don’t know what he gets punished for and what he doesn’t. Anyway, those words weren’t meant as a racist attack. If someone thinks this, then it is wrong. She just flew out of me, that’s all,” he defended himself.