The 46-cap Czech Republic international will serve the sentence if he fails to win his appeal

Tomas Repka has been sentenced to six months in prison.

The former West Ham United defender and his partner were found guilty in a Czech Republic court of advertising the sexual services of his ex-wife online without her knowledge.

2 Repka was adored by Upton Park faithful for his no-nonsense approach to defending

The 44-year-old, who won 46 caps for his country, has been freed on appeal but faces six months in prison if he fails to overturn the ruling.

Repka, along with partner Katerina Kristelova, was found to have posted three fake escort ads online for his former wife Vlad’ka Erbova.

Kristelova, has been fined 50,000 crowns – £1,750 – for her involvement.

A contrite Repka said: “I’m sorry – it was wrong of me. But my relationship with my ex-wife was not good.

“I wasn’t able to see my son, and the situation escalated.”

2 He was no stranger to controversy on and off the pitch

Repka signed for West Ham in 2001 in a club-record £5.5million deal, going on to make 167 appearances for the club as he helped them return to the Premier League in 2005.

While he is a cult hero in east London, his disciplinary record left a lot to be desired. After being sent off on his debut, he was red carded again on his return to the team.

He was capped 46 times for his country, but missed out on Euro 1996 because of suspension.

Repka did, however, play at Euro 2000 as the Czech Republic were eliminated at the group stage.