Duncan Wright: West Ham could intervene over ‘Very disappointing’ Tomas Soucek interview
Tomas Soucek could be reprimanded by West Ham when he returns from this summer’s European Championships, according to The Sun journalist Duncan Wright.
The Czech Republic midfielder, set to star for his country at Euro 2020, has faced backlash after he weighed in on the race row concerning his international teammate Ondrej Kudela, who was handed a lengthy ban earlier this year for racially abusing Rangers star Glen Kamara.
“I fought for Ondrej all the time,” Soucek said in an interview quoted by the Daily Mail. “I believe that he did not tell him anything racist, no one proved anything about him.
“Yet a lot of people in the UK condemned him and he received a heavy sentence of ten matches from UEFA. I found it absurd. I know him so well that I can’t imagine him saying anything racist.
Wright, senior football reporter at The Sun, criticised Soucek on his personal Twitter profile, and suggested his club side could intervene once he returns from his international duties.
He said: “The Soucek quotes are very disappointing and you would hope they get jumped on by West Ham when he returns. There do exist cultural differences, but to be sensitive to racism should not be anything to criticise about.”
Deal with it, Irons
These comments by Soucek really were not a good look at all, and we would hope that the club does indeed intervene and send a clear message over this.
Quite how strong that intervention should be, that’s something to be debated and considered in the days and weeks ahead.
But at the very least Soucek needs to be educated as to why his remarks could be seen as so damaging.
The video evidence and subsequent reactions after Kudela whispered into Kamara’s ear during the March incident, was pretty damning. UEFA’s handling of it, while not perfect and surely not strong enough in the view of most of the footballing world, does show just how serious the matter was to them. They wouldn’t have issued a ten-game ban without compelling evidence.
Soucek may have been trying to protect a teammate that he has known for a while but if we put club bias aside, he got this one way wrong, and it’s a mistake he will need to learn from.
In other West Ham news, Simon Jordan makes £90m Declan Rice transfer claim.
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