The Czech national team in alliance with Kari Jalonen does not yet look good at the World Championships in Finland. The team is having difficulty scoring points – after three rounds, the only victory was won in a match with Great Britain. There are also problems with discipline, which the leaders of the national team prefer not to talk about.

In the end, there are difficulties with personnel – one player had to be expelled due to a “delicate issue”.

What are the Czechs hiding from the fans?

Conflict within the team

Czech striker Dominik Simon will no longer help his team at the World Cup. The expulsion of the 27-year-old hockey player became known the day before. The reasons for the unexpected departure in the coaching staff are not covered, but, apparently, we are not talking about any health problems. According to the general manager of the Czech national team, Petr Nedvěd, the athlete was expelled because of a “delicate matter”.

No details were obtained from the members of the Czech national team. Head coach Kari Jalonen at a press conference after losing the match to the Austrians tried to avoid the issue with Simon. He announced the decision taken at the headquarters not to comment on the situation and asked that this choice be respected, despite the desire of the fans to know in detail about everything that happens in the national team.

The reluctance to talk about the problem only exacerbated the situation, giving rise to all sorts of speculation. What is this “delicate issue” that no one in the team wants to talk about? Health problems, non-compliance with the regime, maybe a conflict with partners for political reasons?

In the absence of official comments, the most ridiculous rumors leaked into the information space, including even the conviction of Simon in smoking. Of course, there is nothing good in this, but Dominic is not a schoolboy, to be thrown out of the national team because of such a single fault, wrapping the incident in a wrapper of “delicacy”. So what happened inside the Czech team?

Photo: © Kalle Parkkinen / Newspix24 / Global Look Press

Nerves and emotions

After some time, an explanation appeared in the Czech press from the representatives of Dominik Simon, which spoke of a skirmish with a teammate. Simon fought, according to Daily Sport, with defender Filip Gronek. The 24-year-old Detroit Red Wings player does not leave the location of the national team; apparently, the team management has no complaints about his behavior.

– Dominic was forced to leave the World Cup for personal and family reasons after two matches in the national team. Nerves and emotions due to problems on the ice and in his personal life, he took out when he tried to provoke a skirmish with a teammate. Dominik is very sorry and apologizes to the team and management, Sport.cz reported.

Dominik Simon / Photo: © RvS.Media / Monika Majer / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

As for Simon, his season really turned out to be not the best. Anaheim did not make it to the playoffs; the Czech hockey player himself had statistics that were far from ideal. And the athlete has not yet been offered a new contract. In such a situation, the “nerves and emotions” that were talked about in the press probably splashed out.

The nervous player did not contribute to the creation of a working atmosphere within the team, and therefore went on an early rest. In the upcoming matches, we will find out if getting rid of the toxic Simon will help Jalonen’s team. There are important group stage games ahead against Latvia, Norway, the USA and Finland, where losing points, based on the current tournament situation, is highly undesirable.

And the Czechs are forced to prepare for these matches against the backdrop of an unpleasant scandal.