The well appeared in the preview of the match between Austria and Denmark. Photo: Capture TV.
Europe’s more modest teams are giving some talk in the Nations League, and after the good results achieved by the Czech Republic and Hungary, which added separate draws against the likes of Spain and England, the focus has been on the match that Austria and Denmark disputed. The match ended with a victory for the Danes, who established themselves as leaders of their group, but a curious situation stole the attention of the match.
Both teams met for the second round of Group 1 completed by France and Croatia, at the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna. Both came from the surprise in the opening match, which is why a lot was expected from this match in which one of the two could take the lead in the group.
The playing field, the great protagonist of the crossing between Austria and Denmark. (Photo AP / Andreas Schaad)
The Danish footballers took to Ernst Happel’s grass a few minutes before the start of the match, to warm up, when they noticed something strange on the pitch, and more precisely in the middle of the pitch. The Danish men noticed a detail, namely that a few meters from the center line of the circle, there was a hole about half a meter deep.
Those led by Kasper Hjulmand were in charge of recording some images of this well, which endangered the physical integrity of both the Danes and the Austrians. The videos, which went viral within minutes, show Danish striker Skov Olsen sticking his leg into the hole that caused so much controversy.
Delay and anger of the Danes
The truth is that this deformity in the playing field added to an electrical problem, which caused a delay in the start of the game, which could start just 80 minutes after the scheduled time. Regarding the state of the field, Olsen explained: “Terrible, I think they are aware that they should have done better. The hole could have ruined someone’s career“.
His statements were joined by those of the DT of Denmark, who added: “I saw pictures of that big hole in the middle of the pitch. It was dangerous for the players. The field was really horrible, it was difficult to move.” With these statements, Hjumand made it clear that the terrible state of the playing field did not only concern the well in question, but also that the grass complicated his team in the generality of the match.
Kasper Hjulmand, outraged by the state of the pitch, (EFE / EPA / CHRISTIAN BRUNA)
To close the question, at least from the point of view of the Danes, which was expressed was the defender of Atalanta from Italy, Joakim Maehle. “It’s like falling into quicksand, a total madness. We noticed that in the warm-up, the more we stepped on the grass, the harder it became, “the 25-year-old forward launched.
Research in progress
Although the Danes kept the three points and decided to no longer give importance to these conditions which could cause serious injuries to the protagonists, the Austrian Federation spoke to the Danish media BT, where they announced a determination. The Vienna-based organization explained that it will begin an investigation aimed at clarifying the facts.
“The exact circumstances are being investigated at this time, but we suspect a connection with the massive rain fall the night before “, reads the statement released by an interlocutor of the Federation. Now it remains to be seen whether UEFA will also intervene on the matter. And in view of Friday’s game against France … Will there be a penalty on goal?
Source: Clarin
