November 20
2023
on
07:16

Czech national team players sent home before crucial match following nightclub search

West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal and two other Czech national team players will not be in action in Monday’s decider against Moldova.

The national team made the announcement Sunday on X/Twitter.

– They have left the national team meeting with immediate effect, the message said.

This applies to West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal, centre-back Jakub Brabec from Greece’s Aris Thessaloniki and striker Jan Kuchta from Sparta Prague.

According to Sport Daily, the players were spotted on Saturday at a nightclub in Olomouc, where the national team will face Moldova on Monday evening.

The media has published photos of the players in a nightclub with Tomas Neumann, who is part of the management of the Czech Football Association.

The Czech Republic are second in Group E and need at least a point against Moldova to secure a place at next year’s European Championship in Germany. Moldova, on the other hand, can take over second place with a win and qualify.

Czech national team manager Jaroslav Silhavy, who has come under fire after a string of poor results, called the incident a “big disappointment and inconvenience”.

All three players were in the starting Eleven when the Czech Republic drew 1-1 with Poland on Friday.

– We hope the players are ready to play the match. They regret it and have apologized to the team, but that is not enough, said Silhavy.

The Czech Republic has qualified for every European Championship since the country became independent in 1993. (NTB)