Juicy football case will probably end up in front of the court

Zdroj: Pravda, Michal Zeman

The case of billboards, which were supposed to promote the participation of our national football players in the Olympic Games in Sydney, has a juicy finale. Last year, during the Olympic Games, three Slovak national players: the team leader Juraj Czinege, Marián Čišovský and Eduard Hrnčár appeared on the billboards next to the logo “I know what I want” and a registered brand name MARS.

According to the player’s own words, they never agreed to be on such a billboard and nobody had ever asked them for the permission. They do not have any contract with the Slovak Football Association that would make such a practice possible. After failed attempts to reach agreement outside the courtroom, they filed a complaint against S.I.T. Company (Slovak International Tobacco) and Sport Progress, a marketing company for the Football Association.

They are asking for a total of 700,000 Slovak crowns as compensation. “ I don’t remember a similar case, where our football players would defend themselves this way. Legal knowledge is at a very low level in this field,” said Jozef Tokoš, director of sport agency P. L. A. Y., which ensures a complete service and legal protection for Czinege. Tokoš, who is busy with legal aspects in football, claims that the case is clear. Individual complaints had already been sent to local courts according to the place of players’ residence. Football players are waiting for the process that has no precedent in our country.