Slavia Prague once had to apologise after releasing a bizarre video ahead of their Europa League last-32 first leg clash with Leicester City which has caused a storm on social media
It’s hardly shocking when football clubs resort to psychological warfare before a crucial fixture.
However, Slavia Prague’s stunt has to rank amongst the most bizarre attempts ever witnessed. The Czech outfit were set to face Leicester City back in 2021 in the Europa League’s last-32 stage.
Prior to the clash, a clip on the club’s YouTube channel saw reporter Jiri Hozek making outlandish claims that the Foxes’ keeper Kasper Schmeichel, who celebrated his birthday earlier this month, is ‘overweight’ and ‘wearing a corset’ during games.
It represented an extraordinary show of disrespect towards a Premier League champion goalkeeper who has racked up more than 200 top-flight appearances and earned 119 caps for Denmark.
If an elite international shot-stopper like Schmeichel requires a corset, what chance do the rest of us stand?
Jaroslav Tvrdik, Slavia Prague’s president, had to subsequently issue an apology for the footage.
“We are sorry that some of the opinions put forward could have been interpreted as offensive,” he stated. “It was not our intention. We are looking forward to both games.”
Yet the harm was already inflicted, with Leicester supporters understandably expressing their fury at the ridiculous claims across social media platforms.
Slavia Prague’s English-language Twitter account attempted to defuse the tension: “If you watch it you will get to the part where Kasper Schmeichel is praised for his performance and described as one of the key players for the team.
“We have great respect for the club,” they posted.
Leicester wouldn’t even have the chance to get the last laugh – and they were dumped out of the tournament by the Czech giants.
Schmeichel would leave Leicester the following summer – turning out for Nice and Anderlecht before moving to Celtic in 2024, where he still turns out between the sticks.