January 12, 2009: Czech Constitutional Court Confirms Sentence on Corrupt Football Referee

The Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic confirms a CZK 70,000 (approx. €3,000) fine imposed on corrupt football referee Lubomir Pucek for helping fix a match in the Slovak league between Banska Bystrica and Puchov in 2003. Pucek was found guilty of discussing a bribe with another official over the telephone by a district court, and the verdict has already been confirmed by a regional court. However, Pucek appealed a second time on the grounds that courts have no business fining football referees for corruption, as this was a private matter. The Constitutional Court is of another opinion. “Football competitions should be regarded as a society-wide phenomenon and this fact should be given expresion in the form of an interest in their fairness and proper conduct, excluding the intentional influencing of match results,” says the Constitutional Court. Before his fall, Pucek won the Crystal Whistle for the Czech league’s best referee five times. [Mladá fronta DNES, 1/12/2009]