Patrik Bartošák | Photo: Jakub Knap, hokekv.cz
On Thursday, Slovakia announced his arrival, but after a few days Patrik Bartošák’s engagement ends. Spišská Nová Ves issued an official statement describing the whole situation with the Czech goalkeeper in more detail.
“We carefully considered the possibility of hiring the quality goalkeeper Patrik Bartošák for the most important part of the season based on information from players and coaches who worked with him in the past,” recalls the club’s general manager Richard Rapáč.
“We knew that possible involvement would cause a wave of criticism. However, in recent years, we have given other players a similar chance at the club, and in the final reckoning, our decision turned out to be the right one. Therefore, in this case too, we believed in our positive experiences, the human approach that worked.”
At the same time, the manager of the second unit of the Tipos extraliga announced that he had thought about the decision for a long time, met with Bartošák several times and talked with him in detail about the stormy past.
The 30-year-old participant of the 2019 World Cup had mental problems in the past, as well as problems with alcohol. In 2015, while working overseas, his girlfriend accused him of domestic violence, and seven years later, his father accused him of assault. He quit in Hradec Králové in November due to repeated breach of contract, then he didn’t even show up for pre-match training and a home extra-league match.
That’s why Rapáč says: “Based on all the available information, we decided to give him a chance to return to professional sports under strict conditions, bound by a contract, which would not jeopardize the good name of the club. We are aware that there are events in the player’s past that are rightly perceived as critical, but despite them, based on our successful work with players with various problems off the ice, we believed that we would be able to help Patrik as well.”
Patrik Bartošák | Photo: Stanislav Souček, mountfieldhk.cz
Patrik Bartoška, however, after arriving in Spišská Nová Ves, refused to undergo a medical examination, which was one of the basic points of the contract.
“So we have no choice but to suspend his contract. However, we will not turn our backs on him, but we are willing to give him a helping hand, because his story is not unique in the world of sports and we want to be an example that people need help when they need it most,” concludes the manager of Spišská Nové Ves.
A completely different type of fight awaits the drafted goalkeeper, who could compete for the Slovak title…
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