Controversy Surrounding Referee Šefar’s Decision in District Championship Match between Lišan and Řevničov

The incident occurred only in the fifth minute of the second half’s regulation time. One of the home players tried to kick the ball into the net, but an opponent intervened on the goal line. From the recording freely available on the Facebook profile of the SK Sparta Řevničov club, it is evident that the ball did not cross the line. However, the referee Šefar’s assistant signaled the exact opposite at the sideline and the goal was recognized.

The duel between Lišan and Řevničov ended 2:2, which certainly does not please the visiting team, which is still only two points behind the last Rynholc in the district championship. “The referee’s assistant Šefar decided on the final draw result against the home team Lišan and quite possibly resigned us to relegation,” the club writes on the social network.

“Yes, the same referee Šefara, who got on TV with his penchant for alcohol during a youth game when he couldn’t stand on his feet. Unfortunately, as long as these people are in football, we will still be very far from pure football,” he continues.

On the same day, Sunday, June 4, the Referees’ Commission also dealt with this incident, according to which Šefar’s assistant committed a gross error when he incorrectly signaled that the ball had crossed the goal line and thus the goal of the home team was reached. The communiqué also states that the referee was in the wrong position when he was standing at the level of the goal area.

“Furthermore, the commission of referees is grossly dissatisfied with the decision of the assistant referee, and therefore decided to limit Milan Šefar’s delegation to 8 rounds, including the year 2023/24. Milan Šefar will also be fined, the amount of which, however, cannot be published due to valid UEFA regulations,” the communiqué reads.

Šefara subsequently informed the Rakovník District Football Association via e-mail that he had terminated his work as a referee. The union thus removed him from the list of judges.

Šefar became “notorious” four years ago for his behavior during a teenage duel in Beroun, when he had major stability problems in his role as an assistant referee due to his drunken state and even fell on the lawn several times. The incident was subsequently dealt with by the disciplinary commission, which awarded the referee a one-year ban and a fine of 40,000 crowns.