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Football official Roman Rogoz, as one of the main accused of the football corruption affair, has not yet told the investigators much. He repeatedly apologizes for the interrogations, mostly with reference to medical reasons.
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Police officers learned many things from the contents of his iPhone. Specifically from what they found inside the numerous communication applications he used. According to the police, the correspondence intercepted in the mobile phone, which according to the police is related to criminal activity, has now become a part of the file.
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It shows, among other things, that Roman Rogoz, as the then sports director of Slavoje Vyšehrad and an aide to the main figure of the Roman Berbrandal scandal, had a great time with Jan Nezmar, then the sports head of Prague’s Slavia, in 2019 and 2020. And also with his colleague Jiří Bílek, who was in charge of the B-team in Slavia and after Nezmar’s departure from the club in the summer of 2020, he also took over his powers.
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The List of Reporters reporter had the opportunity to look into this new part of the file. The content and form of correspondence conducted by the mentioned men records what has been said behind the scenes since the beginning of 2019. That Slavia was to form a behind-the-scenes alliance with Roman Berbr, then vice-president of the Czech Football Association and in reality the most powerful man inside football.
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At the same time, the police have already documented that both Berbr and Rogoz had a great influence on football referees aimed at manipulating matches, especially in connection with the matches of the Slavoj Vyšehrad club, where Roman Rogoz was the sports director. About this case for example, they wrote a list of messages in this article.
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More than the fate of this smaller Prague club, which due to the case awaits a fall into lower competitions, but fans are interested in whether behind-the-scenes support was organized at the highest football level – in the fight for the football championship or domestic cup trophy.
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At the same time, the communication had already reached the public, in which Roman Berbr repeatedly claimed some significant financial performance from Jan Nezmar.
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The police worked with the hypothesis that it could be a million premium for Berbr’s share in winning the Slavia championship in the 2018/2019 season. Slavia flatly rejected this interpretation.
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“I did not provide Roman Berbr with any funds and I did not commit any violations of the law. Slavia won the titles because it was the best sports club in the country for the last 4 years. We didn’t need the referee or anyone else to help us in any way, and it didn’t happen on the court either. We did not elect Roman Berbr and we went against the continuity of Berbrov’s conditions, “the Slavic chief Jaroslav Tvrdík commented for Seznam Zprávy in December.
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However, what we learn from the new part of the investigation file brings other circumstances back into play.
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The situation seems to be such that at the beginning of 2019 the Slavic man Jan Nezmar and Berbr’s man Roman Rogoz were assembled by the ministry. Minitý, who began to work with Berbr’s blessing and support.
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The police investigator noted the following assessment in the file: “Rogoze and Nezmar’s communication between January and May 2019, when the subject is SK Slavia Praha’s fight for the title in the Fortuna League. FC Viktoria Plzeň is a competitor in the fight for the title and Rogoz and Nezmar are trying to influence the match in an effort to benefit the SK Slavia Praha club. Rogoz involves both the Vice-Chairman of the FACR Berbra and the Chairman of the Inmate Commission. “
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Thanks to Rogoz’s mobile phone, the police have communication around the Slavia – Liberec match, which ended 0-0. It concerns the judge Emanuel Marek, whom Nezmar described as a butterfly emoticon in communication, probably his cipher was inspired by the fairy tale About the Poppy Doll and the Butterfly Emanuel.
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What about the Butterfly? (A butterfly emoticon has been included in the report.) Will she be okay? ”Nezmar asked.
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“I just happened to talk to him. Even a Bodybuilder and a Policewoman, “Rogoz responded. He immediately explained to groping Nezmar that he meant nominated referee assistants for the match, namely Jaroslav Kubr and Lucia Ratajová.
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“I hope the news that comes to me, what the West is doing (probably Viktoria Plzeň) they are nonsense, but it still won’t be an ass, “Nezmar feared.
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Rogoz: “Everyone talks nonsense and shit. I’ll tell Pep (meant Jozef Chovanec)to call him, just in case.
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Nezmar responded with three emoticons clasped hands and added a raised thumb.
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“That’s clear, boss,” Rogoz wrote.
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After the match, which ended 0-0, Jan Nezmar was angry that referee Emanuel Marek did not give Slavia or deco support.
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Nezmar: “We were worried and needed to help.”
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Rogoz: “I told Dad and he would arrange it.”
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Nezmar: “Ada (head of Viktoria Plzeň Adolf Šádek) too. “
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Rogoz: “I’m Dad (Roman Berbr) he said he had to push harder. I felt that way. “
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It should be emphasized that the evidence or records that would give rise to the suspicions arising from that communication are not yet publicly known. There are no records of financial transactions to accompany the referees’ debates or wiretaps in which someone would assign referees to assist Slavia on the court.
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There is only the above-mentioned and well-known communication between Jan Nezmar and Roman Berbr, to which Jaroslav Tvrdík says that he never provided any funds to Berbr. At the same time, however, the boss of Slavia never provided any explanation of what claim Berbr made in Nezmar’s case. “It’s crazy for you to work,” he said angrily.
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Jan Nezmar himself admitted in previous statements that the conditions in Czech football forced him to move “in the gray zone” and perhaps sometimes go “on orange”. He cited as an example his debate with Roman Berbr, whether referee Petr Ardeleanu, with whom Nezmar feared affection for Victoria Pilsen, was suitable for managing Slavia’s match with Olomouc.
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A brief history of the struggle for influence over referees
The Křetínský bag affair
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September 2012 Daniel Křetínský, the owner of Sparta, comes to inform the chairman of the Pelt association about his findings concerning the influencing of the competitions by the judges. He has a black bag in his hand, which gives the affair its name. Křetínský thus fanned the debate on the support of Viktoria Plzeň by the judges. There is open speculation in this matter about the share of Roman Berbr and his wife Dagmar Damková, then chairwoman of the Jury.
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Listkiewicz’s arrival and Pelt’s fall
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Seasons 2016–2018. The head of the Jury will be nominated by Polish expert Michael Listkiewicz for two seasons. However, Pelta himself is accused in the affair of manipulating subsidies in 2017, he ends up at the head of the association, real absolute power is gained by Vice President Berbr.
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Seasons 2018-2020. Former representative Jozef Chovanec is at the head of the Jury. As it turns out, he follows all Berber’s and Rogoz’s instructions to the letter. At the beginning of winter 2019, the news spread behind the scenes that Berbr was now supporting Slavia. After the Slavia-Teplice match, a penalty imposed on the home team is debated and the media speculatively associates it with Rogoz’s influence. Tvrdík responds by saying that this is the peak of absurdity. Shortly afterwards, a bizarre moment arrives in the Bohemians – Slavia match, when the referees, with the help of VAR, cancel the goal of the “kangaroos” and return the game to the other side of the field, where a penalty kick is ordered for Slavia.
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Due to the controversial situations from the matches with Teplice or Bohemians (see infobox), media attention is attracted to Slavia and speculations about an alliance with Rogoz and Berbr are becoming more frequent.
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All this is reflected in the conversations that Rogoz and Nezmar are having together at the time. The Slavic director complains that (journalist) Mádl beats them and the boss (Tvrdík) is sick of it. “Holt, you have to endure it. Or you will lose, “Rogoz offers him an alternative.” You’d better be the first, “Nezmar chooses.
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At other times, he complains about verbal attacks by Pilsen director Adolf Šádek. “And what Ada still wants. You are ahead of him in the rankings, “says Rogoz. This remark can also be interpreted as meaning that the behind-the-scenes Strahov mafia preferred Slavia to Pilsen at the time.
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And also in front of Sparta. On February 11, 2019, Nezmar wrote to Rogoz that her boss Daniel Křetínský was convening an offensive, calling the owners and representatives of league clubs and arranging meetings with them. His goal is said to be a change in the management of football and especially the Referees Commission, because according to him it is controlled by Slavia Prague.
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Eventually, Slavia wins the title this season, but relations between Tvrdík and Nezmar begin to deteriorate. Probably also because Tvrdík doesn’t want to be reimbursed for the money that Berbr constantly urges Nezmar.
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Jan Nezmar participated in Slavia’s success as an erudite sports expert. Findings from the file suggest that in parallel it also acted as a link to people who arrange the results of matches differently than on the field.
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Nezmar’s departure from the club has been loudly speculated as early as December 2019. And Nezmar’s future successor at the club is also talking about him with Rogoz.
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“You’re right, without it it would be the end of SKS (Slavia),” said Jiří Bílek, then head of the Slavic B-team. And Rogoz said of Slavia’s variant without Nezmar: “They wouldn’t have a dad (Berbra) or the others.”
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Nezmar ended in Slavia on August 31, 2020. A few weeks later, on October 16, 2020, Roman Berbr and Roman Rogoz were arrested.
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