Czech Republic punishes national team for ignoring fans after World Cup qualifier

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic soccer association stripped Tomáš Souček of his captaincy Tuesday and denied financial bonuses to national team players as punishment for ignoring their fans after their final World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar.

The Czechs, who had been assured of second place in Group L, won the home game 6-0 in Olomouc on Monday, but the players didn’t go thank the diehard fans who were critical of their performance in the qualifying campaign.

The team will be seeded in Thursday’s draw for the 16-team playoffs next March for four remaining European spots at next summer’s World Cup.

The association apologized to fans and said the players won’t receive the financial bonuses for the game. Instead, the money will go to charities. Souček will lose his captaincy for the team’s next match.

“The fans have a full right to express their disagreement with the unsatisfactory performance in the recent games,” the association said in a statement. “The reaction of the players should have been quite the contrary. They should have thanked the active fans.”

In Monday’s, supporters repeatedly chanted “Fight for Czechia.”