Repka - I gave away a penalty on purpose

  • by Staff Writer
  • Wednesday, 19th March 2014

Ex-West Ham defender Tomas Repka has admitted to deliberately conceding a penalty in order to get back at his former employers.

The retired former Czech international admitted his act of sabotage in a radio interview in which he was plugging his new autobiography.

Now 40, Repka - who played for West Ham between 2001 and 2006 - revealed that he gave away the spot kick against his former club Sparta Prague's main challengers for the Championship title, Liberec, whilst playing for minnows Ceske Budejovice in 2012 as an act of revenge against Sparta president Daniel Kretinsky.

"At that precise moment I was not thinking straight," he said. "I hurt the team as a whole. But I was fuelled by human vanity, and I wanted to settle a score with Mr. Kretinsky.

"He didn't behave fairly to me when I was leaving Sparta, so I promised him I’d get him back. Hopefully I succeeded. Nobody knew about it so I'm voluntarily admitting to it now."



The incident in question (scroll to 0:55)


The game, which took place in April 2012 ended up in a 4-0 home defeat for Budejovice. Liberec went on to take the title at the expense of Prague by just two points - the first time they'd won the Czech Liga since 2005/06.

Repka - a £5million Glenn Roeder signing from Italian side Fiorentina - was famously dismissed on his debut for West Ham, before being sent off again in his first match back from suspension - a 7-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.

He was equally volatile off the field during his spell in England and was arrested in 2004 for harassment following a complaint by a neighbour.

Despite his many foibles, Repka went on to become a hugely-popular figure at the Boleyn Ground and his farewell match - a 2-1 win against Fulham in January 2006 - saw him leave the field in tears.



Tears of a Clown: Tommy bids farewell to the Boleyn


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