Image: JOHN THYS (APA/AFP/JOHN THYS)
The German coach of the Portuguese soccer champions Benfica Lisbon was sent off in the 2-0 win at FC Vizela on Saturday because he threw a plastic water bottle back into the crowd. The bottle had flown from the stands behind the Benfica bench onto the field just before the final whistle and almost hit Schmidt in the head, who was celebrating the decisive goal to make it 2-0.
Now Schmidt has to wait for the extent of the lock. But he will be able to cope with that, because the weekend was otherwise very positive for him and for Benfica. Thanks to their own victory and the surprising 2-1 defeat of pursuers FC Porto on Sunday at home to Gil Vicente, the “Adler” were able to extend the gap to the defending champions and arch-rivals to eight points after 22 of 34 games.
“Yes, I reacted a bit to the provocations from the fans behind me. And that’s not allowed, so I accept the red card. That’s all,” explained the 55-year-old. Schmidt, who has also worked as a trainer at Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven, also discussed things with the rowdy fans of the home team after the bottle was thrown. After the red card, he “bid farewell” to the Vizela supporters by showing the end result with both hands on the way to the dressing room.
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