Premiere of film about Gypsy club cancelled after threats

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Threats by football fans to disrupt the Prague premiere of a documentary film about a Czech Republic club of mainly Romany players has forced the showing to be cancelled.

The film, “FC Roma,” was to be screened on Tuesday at the stadium of Bohemians Prague 1905, but threats by Bohemians fans made the club stop the premiere.

Filmmakers Rozalie Kohoutova and Tomas Bojar said on their Facebook page they understood the decision but were not intimidated, and producer Pavla Janouskova Kubeckova said the film will likely hit cinemas in October, instead of September.

“FC Roma” was about the Roma Decin club, which entered the lowest Czech league in 2014, and ran straight into apparent prejudice. Other clubs refused to play the team from Decin, in the Czech north near the German border, and preferred to forfeit and accept a fine.

Those clubs denied racism, and instead blamed it on history. Roma Decin was born out of the Decin club, which closed in 2011 after a mass brawl. The other clubs said they hadn’t forgotten their trouble with Decin.

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Two years later, Roma Decin no longer faced forfeits, was playing all-comers, and lying sixth in its 10-team district league.

The film premiered at the Karlovy Vary film festival in July.

The Associated Press