Damage to decent fans? Slavia Prague was handed a loss for massive pitch invasion during the Sparta derby

Slavia Prague was handed a forfeit loss in the abandoned match against arch-rivals Sparta Prague as punishment for the fans who stormed the field during stoppage time of the heated derby in the Czech league last weekend.

The disciplinary ruling issued on Tuesday awards Sparta a 3-0 victory. Slavia were leading 3-2 on Saturday when hundreds of fans stormed the pitch in the seventh minute of extra time. Many supporters waved flares and some attacked several Sparta players, including Slovak goalkeeper Jakub Surovčík, defender Jakub Martinec and forward Matyáš Vojta.

A total of 10 minutes of extra time was to be played, but the match was abandoned without restarting.

Slavia were also ordered to play their next four home games without fans and fined 10 million crowns ($484,000).

Slavia said it would not appeal. It remains at the top of the standings, five points ahead of Sparta with three games to go.

Slavia apologized and said the club will cooperate with police who are investigating the incident as hooliganism, which carries a prison sentence.

The head of the Czech Football Association, David Trunda, said the incident was damaging to “Czech football, its clubs and the vast majority of decent fans.”

Truunda is involved in talks with the government to improve security in Czech stadiums.

Slavia CEO Jaroslav Tvrdík said the club will install a facial recognition system in the stadium.

Tvrdík announced on Sunday that Slavia would close the North Stand, where die-hard fans reside, with immediate effect. The stand will be closed until all perpetrators have been identified and brought to justice.

The perpetrators will be banned from Slavia’s stadium for life, the club said.

The two Slavia players who received red cards during the derby – top scorer Tomáš Chorý and defender David Douděra – were suspended for the rest of the season, Tvrdík said. The club has put the duo on the transfer list.

Both players were included on Tuesday in the provisional selection of the 54-man Czech Republic national team for the upcoming World Cup. The Czechs have qualified for the first time in twenty years for the tournament co-organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Published on May 12, 2026