The Vice-Chairman of the FACR, Roman Berbr, was accused of corruption and fraud, along with 19 other people, mostly judges. In addition to helping to manipulate Slavoj Vyšehrad’s matches, the police are also investigating the possibility that he embezzled 850,000 crowns from the box office of the Pilsen Regional Football Association.
–
Berbr left his position in the leadership of the FACR, and his wife Dagmar Damková did so shortly afterwards. Behind the scenes, there is a debate as to whether the rest of the management of the Football Association of the Czech Republic should resign.
–
In an interview with Seznam Zprávy, Rudolf Řepka clearly emphasizes his thesis that things should not be rushed. According to him, it is crucial that football changes first at the district level. And only then will the new delegates elect a legitimate new leadership of the FACR at the Ordinary General Meeting, preferably in May next year.
–
I will ask straight away: Do you want to be the new football chairman?
–
So I’ll tell you straight: I want to run for the position of chairman of the district football association in Teplice.
–
We are being talked about as an option for the chairman of the Football Association of the Czech Republic…
–
I have a lot of phone calls, people mention it in exaggeration or maybe even seriously. But while I may surprise someone, this isn’t exactly the most important thing right now, it’s not on the agenda.
–
And what do you think is more acute?
–
In order for people from football to understand how the association works, the power in it is largely held by the districts. And that if they want a change in football, then that change should first take place in those districts. And especially that they should make the change themselves. If I can contribute to Czech football in anything, it is that I am willing to explain to anyone at any time how these mechanisms work and how important it is. I have a feeling that people are not very good at it, even including representatives of league clubs. But if changes need to be made, first here in the districts.
–
Because that’s the sequence. We will see if the change in the district structures can be made or not. Maybe it will be cosmetic, maybe essential. In any case, it would be right for me to have the new FACR leadership elected at the general meeting, ideally, by new representatives of the football districts.
–
Many people, led by the head of the Teplice club Pavel Šedlbauer, are calling for the current FACR leadership to resign as soon as possible and for an extraordinary FACR general meeting to be held as soon as possible to elect a new leadership.
–
Well, I would really dare to disagree with such a procedure. Consider that in such a case, the same people who elected the current FACR leadership in 2017 would go to the extraordinary general meeting as delegates.
–
So it could also happen that for the next 4 years they would confirm the close associates of Mr. Berbr, such as Mr. Libu, Blaschke, Votík, or Mrs. Damková, if she ran again.
–
For example. Coincidentally, I will have a meeting with Mr Šedlbauer. I understand that he wants a quick change. But I would like to try to explain to him that in my judgment, football is most beneficial when football is changed from below first.
–
You have already mentioned that you want to be the chairman of the Teplice district, Antonín Kordula, another of the anti-Siberian rebels, as far as I know, wants to run for chairman of the OFS Hodonín…
–
Exactly. And if the districts are managed to change in this way in order to suppress the power of those structures that have traditionally elected Roman Berbr and his loved ones, then completely new delegates may come to the Ordinary General Meeting in May. And then it will be up to them what kind of FACR leadership they would choose. It would probably be suggested that new people choose other people.
–
And would you run for FACR chairman in such a situation?
–
That’s a long way off. Now it is necessary to try to make those changes in the districts, and then in the regions. It also takes some time, the district conferences take place in January. Until then, we have some time to explain it all to people. If it succeeds, Czech football has a chance to move on. And if he then elects an official, a billionaire, or a former player to head it, that’s another thing. But even if it was St. Peter’s, he could do nothing on his own. Any new president will need broad support. And if it is embedded in those old structures, it will have no chance to change anything.
–
Many will argue that you are also an old structure in their eyes. What will you answer them?
–
That, of course, depends on their judgment. As Secretary General, I worked at the FACR from the summer of 2007 until the end of 2018. I will leave it up to others to say to what extent I got dirty or not. If they don’t want me anymore, I’ll understand, they have a right to it.
–
Were you surprised by Mr Berbr’s police charges?
–
So I guess I sensed a lot over the years. There were some clues, Mr. Rogoz was still visiting the union, and they were constantly working on something. I did not know anything specific in this regard. But as you know, at the end of 2018, after Michal Prokeš and other people like Ondra Lípa, Tonda Barák and many others left, I lost my patience and decided that I no longer wanted anything to do with this leadership of the association. And I left the position of general secretary and work at the FACR.
–
And what did you actually do then?
–
I am still involved in UEFA structures. I drive as a delegate to matches of the Champions League, the European League, the League of Nations. For example, at the beginning of November, I should be delegated to the Real Madrid – Inter Milan match. In addition, I am a member of the UEFA Disciplinary Board. But of course it doesn’t feed me.
–
I worked in the start-up project Sponsor Online as a marketing director for Central and Eastern Europe. But this project completely destroyed the covid-19. So now I work as an executive director in the agency of Martin Hrdlička.
–
Can Czech football change now?
–
It depends on the people who work in it, whether they understand it as an opportunity for change and whether they will actively participate in it themselves. I will try to do my best and explain their possibilities to them. So now I perceive my role, if I can contribute to Czech football, at least with this.
—
