WE SAW HEARTS VIDEO - IT WAS LIKE A BOXING MATCH

SPARTA PRAGUE skipper Tomas Sivok fears a Euro KO from Hearts after accusing the SPL of resembling a boxing match.

Sivok is relieved Italian ref Paolo Bertini is in charge of tonight's UEFA Cup clash at Murrayfield, despite his involvement in the recent Serie A football scandal.

Sivok reckons he is just the ticket after being astonished at the level of leniency shown by our own officials at the recent game between Hearts and Rangers at Ibrox.

Sparta players watched a video of the game, which finished 2-0 to the Light Blues, in a bid to get the lowdown on the Jambos.

Instead, they were left openmouthed at the physical approach to a match in which Robbie Neilson was red-carded for two fouls.

Czech internationalist Sivok, who turns 23 tomorrow, said: "It was like a boxing match.

"The game against Rangers was unbelievably tough and we are not used to playing in such a way.

"In our league, this game would have resulted in four red cards and I'm glad we have an Italian referee because he won't allow such a massacre."

Sivok lined up at central defence in his side's 2-0 defeat of Tescoma Zlin at the weekend but is set to be restored to his usual defensive midfield berth tonight. Sparta coach Michal Bilek is set to go with towering frontman Libor Dosek as solitary attacker as Sivok prepares to say hello to a Hearts player he knows well.

He gave a helping hand to Jambos hitman Michal Pospisil four years ago when Prague was hit by its worst floods in history - and the former Sparta star, who misses tonight's game through injury, stayed 18 months.

Sivok said: "Michal's parents had to flee the flood and he had nowhere to live so I offered him a room.

"He stayed one-and-a-half years and we became good pals. There was no such thing as cooking - we either ate in the pub or put ready-made meals in the oven.

"The system worked well - I paid the rent, he bought the food and we still keep in touch. It's to our advantage that Michal can't play tonight but Roman Bednar is very dangerous."

Coach Bilek touched down in Edinburgh yesterday and admitted the game against Rangers had also given him food for thought.

He said: "It was a very tough match. We could see Hearts are a side who are prepared to run for 90 minutes and we must be prepared to run with them."

Taken from the Daily Record