03.06.2021 18:24 h

Czechs swap FA head as corruption looms large

The Czech Football Association (FACR) elected a new chairman on Thursday in a bid to reform the body following a string of corruption scandals plaguing football in the country.

Petr Fousek, an experienced FACR official, won the vote at the FACR general meeting with 106 votes, beating former Manchester United, Benfica and Lazio winger Karel Poborsky with 91.

"Many things don't work. I can think of many things I would do differently and better," Fousek told the meeting before the vote.

The 58-year-old Fousek will replace Martin Malik, who beat him in a 2017 vote. Malik did not run for re-election.

Malik replaced Miroslav Pelta, who had been arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of power along with two civil servants including a deputy education minister, facing up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Pelta, who stepped down while in custody, is still on trial, but he was present at Thursday's general meeting as the owner of FK Jablonec, who came third in the Czech top-flight last season.

Last October, police detained influential deputy FACR head Roman Berbr, a former referee who media said had been pulling the strings in Czech football for years.

Berbr was arrested along with 18 other football officials in a police raid on an organised crime group over suspected match-fixing.

Local media implicated Berbr in relation to corruption cases and bullying at the FACR, but he had never been charged.

Berbr resigned and the FACR appointed a new referees committee head, replacing former player Jozef Chovanec with Portuguese ex-referee Vitor Manuel de Melo Pereira.

Berbr's wife Dagmar Damkova, the first female referee in the Czech Republic, stepped down from a post on the UEFA referees committee following her husband's arrest.

Fousek, a former adviser to Pelta with professional links to both FIFA and UEFA, said he was aware of the "huge responsibility" he is facing.

"There's a hugh pile of work ahead, but I'm not afraid. I feel privileged to lead the largest sports association in the country," Fousek said.