Hearts exercise option on Skacel

Hearts have agreed a deal with Marseille to keep midfielder Rudi Skacel at the club for two more seasons.

The Czech internationalist has spent the last year on loan at Tynecastle and the Edinburgh club announced they had taken up their option to sign him on a permanent basis and bought out the remaining two years of his contract at the French club.

Sources close to the player suggested that, although the clubs had agreed a deal, there were still loose ends to tie up and it was by no means a foregone conclusion Skacel would be at Tynecastle next season. However, Hearts are adamant a deal has been done.

A club spokesman said: "Hearts can today confirm that the club has an agreement in place with Rudi Skacel which was signed last summer. Hearts and Marseille agreed terms before Rudi joined, which has resulted in the club exercising their right to retain him for a further two years."

News of the deal has given the Tynecastle outfit a major boost ahead of their important home match against Aberdeen tonight, where a win will secure second place in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague and the chance of Champions League football next season.

The club have also sided with the player over allegations that he spat at Neil Lennon during the 3-0 win over champions Celtic on Sunday.

Pictures purporting to show Skacel spitting at the Parkhead captain were published on the front and back page of the Scottish Sun newspaper. Hearts officials denied they showed such an offence being committed and announced on the club website last night that reporters and photographers from that newspaper would be banned from Tynecastle for the foreseeable future.

The Scottish Football Association said later there was insufficient television evidence to merit any investigation into the incident.

Valdas Ivanauskas, the interim Hearts manager, said he was delighted Skacel would be at Tynecastle for two more seasons and backed him in the spitting row.

"I have spoken to Rudi and he denies spitting," said the Lithuanian. "Recent months have been hard and there has been a bit of negative reaction against him. He is a professional and an emotional player. He is also very important to us and we will try and save him from all these allegations.

"I do not think there will be a reaction from Rudi in the match against Aberdeen as he is a professional. As for him staying, any manager would be happy to have such a player."

Christophe Berra, the Hearts defender, claimed Skacel had the full backing of the Tyne-castle dressing room. He said: "Rudi is a great player and an honest guy. No-one here believes he did it. There are pictures in the paper but that could be anything. He could have been spitting on the ground. I'm not saying Lennon is a liar, but Rudi is adamant he's telling the truth he did not spit at him and we believe him.

"I wouldn't like to think he would do that and I don't think he did.He's not an aggressive guy or that kind of person."

Asked why he thought Lennon had made the claims, he added: "I don't know him personally and I don't know why he would say that. Maybe he thought he did spit at him or maybe he is just trying to stir things up, but we just need to get on with our job and concentrate on the game against Aberdeen."

John McGlynn, the assistant head coach at Tynecastle, will be in the dugout for Hearts this evening as vanauskas will have to watch the match from the stands. The Lithuanian learned yesterday that he had failed in his appeal to overturn a two-match touchline ban imposed by the SFA after he was sent to the stand during his side's 1-0 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead earlier in the season.

Taken from the Herald