Czech football association gives refs the power to call foul on racism coming from the stands

The League Football Association, which organizes the first and second highest Czech leagues, wants to suppress racism at football arenas and make the punishments harsher for offensive behavior coming from the stands.

The association has decided that referees may now interrupt or even prematurely end a match if fans repeatedly express racism.

Referee commission head Jozef Chovanec said referees have long been instructed on how to intervene should manifestations of racism among the spectators take place.

During the first league match in Olomouc last weekend, fans insulted black French striker Jean-David Beauguel, who played for the visiting team of Plzen, by making monkey sounds when the player came near the home team stands. The Olomouc club was fined by the association’s disciplinary commission.

The club apologized after the match and said the culprits were identified and asked to leave the stadium immediately. The club said it then banned the fans from reentering the stadium.

The Czech Football Association strongly condemns racism at football arenas, its chairman Martin Malik said. He said he believes that the culprits should be identified and punished.

Beauguel sharply condemned the actions of the Olomouc fans on Twitter. He also tweeted that Sparta fans made racist comments to another black Plzen player, Joel Kayamba, during the Czech Football Cup semifinal match in Prague last Wednesday.