Penalty king Panenka discharged from Czech hospital

PRAGUE (Reuters) - Former Czech football Antonin Panenka, famous for a cheeky winning penalty in the 1976 European Championship final which made his name part of football terminology, has been discharged from hospital, one week after being taken into intensive care.

Panenka, 71, led Czechoslovakia to their only international title after he dinked the decisive penalty past a surprised goalkeeper Sepp Maier in a penalty shoot-out after the final against West Germany had ended 2-2.

The word Panenka is used to describe any penalty in which the player gently chips the ball down the centre of the goal, assuming the keeper will dive to the right or left.

Panenka is now president of Czech top flight club Bohemians 1905 who said in a statement that he had tested negative for COVID-19 and returned home, though he was still being treated for pneumonia.

“After a week of health complications, our club president and football legend is back home with his family and we hope that everything will be fine soon,” it said.