West Ham Tomas Soucek has revealed the touching reason he did not perform his normal celebration out of respect for Leicester City.
The Czech Republic captain opened the scoring for the Hammers in a 2-0 win over Leicester City at the London Stadium on Thursday night.
For the second time, Soucek found the net in the Premier League on his birthday when he bundled the ball over the line in the 21st minute after Mohamed Kudus’ effort was kept out by Mads Hermansen.
Soucek ran away in celebration with a beaming smile and performed a jumping fist pump. Normally, the 30-year-old celebrates with his arms out and spins in a helicopter-like motion but made a point of keeping them close to his side in a muted gesture.
Tomas Soucek changed his celebration out of respect to Leicester City. Image: Getty
Soucek has no association to Leicester and so the former Slavia Prague midfielder revealed he did so deliberately in a respectful gesture to Leicester, who saw owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, pilots and two passengers, killed in a helicopter crash outside of the King Power Stadium in 2018.
“I didn’t think my normal helicopter celebration was the right thing to do because of what happened to the Leicester owner (Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha),” Soucek said, as per The Athletic’s West Ham correspondent Roshane Thomas.
“I wanted to show respect to our opponents.”
Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester in 2010 and oversaw their unforgettable Premier League title triumph in 2015 under Claudio Ranieri.
The late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha oversaw a dream Premier League title win for Leicester. Image: Getty
The victory for West Ham followed up the shock 1-0 away win against Arsenal last weekend and took Graham Potter’s side to 33 points for the season, level with Manchester United and Spurs after the midweek fixtures.
Reflecting on his goal and the vital win, Soucek added: “A great birthday gift for me – I couldn’t wish for anything more.”
“I always want to be important on the pitch, and with the goals as well, so I always try to score. Then, I try to defend the result in the rest of the game, to make sure we come out on top.”
Elimination from the FA Cup means the Irons have a free weekend before they return to action against Newcastle on Monday 10 March.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Tomas Soucek, West Ham, West Ham United, Leicester City, Premier League
