Sýkora denied that Berbr was a member or leader of an organized group, that his client should pay bribes or appropriate other people’s property and thus cause damage. He also drew attention to the strong media coverage of the case. “Continuing articles were published that painted my client in the worst colors, did not respect the presumption of innocence. In addition to the criminal trial, there is also a media trial, which condemned the defendant a long time ago,” Sýkora added in the hall, where all those present were troubled by bad acoustics and the actors in the trial had to repeat their words often.
The second defense attorney, Lukáš Bohuslav, then questioned the legality of the use of wiretapping. “They were not secured as evidence, but to verify whether the acts took place at all,” he declared.
The case concerns the influencing of football matches in 2019 and 2020, specifically the manipulation of the Slavoj Vyšehrad match. This managed to advance from the third league to the second highest football competition in the 2018/2019 season. Berbr, the sports director of the club Roman Rogoz, allegedly bribed referees and players, whose joint activity was described by the public prosecutor as an organized criminal group, should have played their part in this.
Sýkora denied that manipulation was taking place and that his client would act in such a way as to strengthen his position in football. “This is a general statement,” he says, adding that there is a lack of further justification. The public prosecutor is of the opposite opinion. “Berbr, as the then vice-chairman of the FAČR executive committee, directed the activities of this group and enabled its functioning with the intention of consolidating ties that ensured he maintained his influence and his position in the FAČR. In order to promote his power and economic interests, he used his de facto dominant position in the FAČR to influence the deployment of referees for individual selected matches according to the demands of the accused Rogoz,” the prosecutor wrote.
Just like Berbr, who appeared disinterested most of the time on the first day of the trial, it is Rogoz who denies the guilt. On the contrary, former referee Tomáš Grímm and former footballer Michal Káník feel guilty. Grímm has already entered into a plea agreement and will testify. Káník asked for an agreement and is also willing to provide a statement.
| Proposals for unconditional sentences | |
|---|---|
| Name | Proposed penalty |
| Roman Berbr | 7 years in a prison with security, a fine of 6 million CZK and a ban on exercising the function of a statutory body of a business corporation for a period of 5 years |
| Roman Rogoz | 7 years in a prison with security and a fine of CZK 350,000 |
| Michal Kaník | 4 years in a security prison and a fine of 504,000 |
Prosecutors also accuse Berbra and other people of embezzlement. According to him, they robbed the Pilsen Regional Football Association of more than 2.32 million crowns. “The defendant did not embezzle funds from the Pilsen KFS. He was financially secure,” emphasized Sýkora.
Berbr will be the first to testify, already on Tuesday morning. He will be replaced by Rogoz in the afternoon, Michal Káník will take his turn on Thursday, and Tomáš Grímm will testify on Thursday, May 18, i.e. in the planned second week of the trial.
Roman Berbr at the court in PilsenVideo: Sport.cz
FAČR also joined the victims during the morning. Its representative, the vice-chairman of the VV FAČR for Moravia, Jiří Šidliák, stated before the court that the association suffered both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage, while the non-pecuniary damage cannot be quantified, so they are not even demanding it.
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