Sparta Prague players pass sexist comments on referee, told to train with women’s team

Prague: Two Sparta Prague players have been told to train with the women’s team after making sexist comments about a female match official. Goalkeeper Tomas Koubek had said, “My opinion is that women belong at the stove and should not officiate men’s football,” after assistant referee Lucie Ratajova did not flag an opponent offside in Sunday’s match against Brno FC. Brno midfielder Alois Hycka was several meters offside at the decisive moment before he used his position to equalise in stoppage time and salvage a 3-3 draw. After the match, midfielder Lukas Vacha tweeted a picture with a sexist comment, which translates to “to the stove”.

Ke sporáku... pic.twitter.com/Nb9iMNCZPg

— Lukáš Vácha (@Vason6) October 2, 2016

The club decided to punish the pair for their comments by having them to train with the women’s side for the next few weeks. Sparta chief executive Adam Kotalík called the remarks “unacceptable”. BBC reported him as saying that “the players will see for themselves that women can be handy not only at the stove”. Women’s team captain Iva Mocova told Independent, “We are looking forward to the boys training with us.” Koubek had later apologized for his “emotional outburst”. On Monday, the Czech Republic goalkeeper posted on Facebook, “Immediately after the game, I said a sentence for which I’m sorry and for which I apologize to all women.” The football federation’s disciplinary committee is scheduled to deal with Koubek’s remarks on Thursday. (With inputs from AP)