Sports News

In this weeks sports news, spectator scuffles stop play in a weekend Gambrinus Liga match; Czech long-distance speed-skater Martina Sáblíková wins silver in Moscow; the Czech paralympic movement settles a long-running internal dispute and ice-hockey sensation Jaromír Jágr’s many millions.

Play was suspended for ten minutes during the second half of a match between FC Baník Ostrava and FK Mladá Boleslav after home fans from Ostrava attempted to raid the pitch. The incident occurred during the 49th minute, with Mladá Boleslav up 2:0. The referee suspended the match, sending all the players into their dressing rooms for ten minutes while order was restored. Reports suggest that the home fans, in their effort to storm the pitch, physically attacked one of the officials. Local police then acted to secure the pitch by forcing spectators back into their seats. Once the match was underway again, Ostrava upped the pressure with an unsuccessful 73rd minute strike from Martin Lukeš; then, during the sixth minute of added time, came a goal from Tomáš Marek. But ultimately this wasn’t enough to turn around the spring season Gambrinus Liga match, which ended 2:1.

And in other Gambrinus Liga matches over the weekend, Dukla Praha beat Viktoria Žižkov 3:0; Sparta Praha beat Slovácko FC 1:0; Viktoria Plzeň beat FK Teplice 4:3 and FK Příbram and Slavia Praha ended in a goalless draw.

Martina Sáblíková, photo: CTK

Czech long-distance speed-skater Martina Sáblíková came in second in her field at the Moscow-based World Allround Speedskating Championships on Sunday. Moravian-born Sáblíková won the women's final 5,000-meter race in 6 minutes and 58.74 seconds, finishing second overall with 161.870 points. Sáblíková, a gold medal winner at the competition in 2009 and 2010 and a bronze medal winner in 2011, battled at the Krylatskoye Ice Stadium with as-yet undiagnosed pains in her left leg during the competition. After her latest win, the speed-skater told reporters that she was delighted with the result as she had yet to win silver at this competition.

An ongoing feud within the Czech paralympic movement has reportedly been resolved after eight years. The news follows the signing of an accord, which will see the Czech Paralympic Committee (ČPV) once again becoming a full member of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The move means that Czech paralympians will be able to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games in London. A dispute has existed since 2004 between the Czech Sports Organisation for the Physically Disabled (ČSTPS) and the Czech Sports Association of the Physically Disabled (ČATHS) after the head of the former organization expressed dissatisfaction with the management of ČPV leading to the establishment of the rival ČATHS. The spat then ended up in the Czech courts and robbed the Czech paralympic movement of full IPC accreditation. The IPC has also asked that the ČPV amend its statutes by March to give all groups associated with this organization an equal standing.

Finally, reports suggest that the forty-year-old Czech ice-hockey player Jaromír Jágr, currently playing for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers has made around one billion crowns (or around 53 million dollars) during his roughly twenty years playing the sport. According to Hospodářské Noviny, the player’s most lucrative contract was for the 2002-03 season with the Washington Capitals, worth 11.5 million dollars. Today, his latest contract is reportedly worth only 3.3 million dollars. However, the paper also notes numerous financial woes incurred by the Czech hockey star, including roughly 1 million dollars spent on gambling and a 2003 bill for unpaid taxes of 3.27 million dollars. Jágr is also a significant donor to the Czech Civic Democratic party, reportedly giving then 4 million crowns in 2010.