Former referee handed 15-year football ban for corruption

Former Czech league referee Simon Vejtasa has been banned from football for 15 years and fined CZK 150,000 for corruption, the Czech Football Association announced. Its ethics committee found that he accepted bribes to influence two matches involving Baník Ostrava’s reserve team and agreed to accept a bribe over a third between 2021 and 2023. Simon Vejtasa rejects the ruling and plans to appeal, saying match recordings and delegates’ reports support his position. The case follows a series of corruption scandals in Czech football over the past two decades, including the extensive affair surrounding former association vice-chairman Roman Berbr.