Ľubomír Šatka

Ľubomír Šatka (; born 2 December 1995) is a Slovak professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań and the Slovakia national team.

Club career

Early career

Šatka was born in Ilava, Trenčín Region. A product of Dubnica, he joined Newcastle United in 2012. In 2014, he was included in the senior squad for a friendly tournament to be held in New Zealand. On 3 January 2015, Šatka made his first-team debut in an FA Cup match against Leicester City, which his team lost.

Šatka joined League Two club York City on 29 January 2016 on a one-month youth loan, and made his debut on 6 February as a 58th-minute substitute for Matty Dixon in a 2–0 away defeat to Northampton Town.

Dunajská Streda

Šatka returned to Slovakia to join Dunajská Streda on 10 January 2017 on a six-month loan deal. Satka left Newcastle when his contract expired at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Šatka signed a three-year contract with Dunajská Streda on 18 June 2017.

Lech Poznań

Šatka agreed to sign for Ekstraklasa club Lech Poznań on 29 June 2019 on a four-year contract, only joining the club in mid July after Dunajská Streda's tie in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round.

International career

Šatka has been capped by Slovakia at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels.

Šatka was listed as an alternate in the senior team for the two qualifying matches against Slovenia and England on 1 September 2017. In March 2018, he was called up to the senior team for the first time for two fixtures at the 2018 King's Cup. Although an unused substitute for the 2–1 victory over the United Arab Emirates, he debuted and played the entire final match on 25 March 2018 against Thailand in a 3–2 win.

Ján Kozák's resignation incident

Šatka was nominated for a double fixture against Czech Republic and Sweden on 13 and 16 October 2018, respectively. He was fielded against Sweden in the 83rd, but was notably involved in the controversy, that had led to resignation of Ján Kozák, then Slovakia's longest serving and most successful coach, who introduced him to the national team.

Šatka violated the code of conduct of national team player, along with Martin Dúbravka, Michal Šulla, Norbert Gyömbér, Milan Škriniar, Vladimír Weiss and Stanislav Lobotka. On the night of 13 October 2018, after loss in Slovakia's second UEFA Nations League fixture and a derby match against Czech Republic (1–2), they left the hotel and went out, missed the bedtime and violated the wellness policy, regarding regeneration and rehabilitation. They were allegedly busted by Ján Kozák at about midnight, admitting to the incident and apologising during the next day. Ján Kozák resigned from the national team in afternoon hours of 14 October, revealing the details of his decision in a press conference on 18 October, to avoid distractions during the preparation for the fixture against Sweden, that was managed by his former assistant Štefan Tarkovič on a caretaker basis. Kozák cited his inability to work with the squad under such conditions as the primary reason, as about a third of the squad was involved. The coach additionally revealed, that when seeking an explanation from Šatka, on the day after the incident, he apparently claimed he "just went out with friends", to which Kozák sarcastically reacted:"If your friends jump out of the window, will you follow them?". President of SFZ, Ján Kováčik, said that the players will be punished by not receiving any financial rewards for any future nominations and performances in the national team during the upcoming qualification cycle.

On 19 October, SFZ published Šatka's statement, in which he apologised to the entire footballing public of Slovakia, including the fans, SFZ, the team and his fans of DAC Dunajská Streda. He stressed that conduct was not aimed against the coach and he was saddened to learn about Kozák's resignation, being thankful to him for a chance in the senior national team. He stated that it was and it will be his honour to represent the country and that he takes lesson from what happened, now concentrating on his career and professionality off the field, accepting any sanctions from the club or SFZ.

Career statistics

Club

International

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Honours

Lech Poznań
* Ekstraklasa: 2021–22

References

External links

Profile
at the Lech Poznań website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satka, Lubomir
1995 births
Living people
People from Ilava
Slovak footballers
Slovakia youth international footballers
Slovakia under-21 international footballers
Slovakia international footballers
Association football defenders
Newcastle United F.C. players
York City F.C. players
FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda players
Lech Poznań players
Lech Poznań II players
English Football League players
Slovak Super Liga players
Ekstraklasa players
II liga players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
Slovak expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Poland
Slovak expatriate sportspeople in England
Slovak expatriate sportspeople in Poland