EM Turkish opening goal
The Czech goalkeeper’s momentous save
Status: 07:55 am | Reading time: 2 minutes
Heated duel – Turkey’s last-minute victory in video
Turkey wins its last group match and moves into the round of 16 of the European Championship. The Czech Republic receives an early red card, but still has hope until injury time. Then the Turks seal the deal. The highlights in the video.
Turkey moves into the round of 16 after a 2-1 win against the Czech Republic. But shortly before the Turks’ opening goal, Czech goalkeeper Jindrich Stanek apparently sustains a serious injury. Should he play on or not?
The scene was somewhat lost in the cheering of the Turkish players and supporters in the Hamburg stadium. Jindrich Stanek played a tragic role in the hard-fought 2:1 (0:0) victory between the Turks and the Czech Republic at the European Championship. The Czech goalkeeper fell victim to his own save seconds before the Turkish lead goal.
In the 52nd minute, Baris Yilmaz dribbled down the right side and laid the ball flat back into the penalty area. Stanek, who had already made two strong saves in the match up to that point, was able to parry Kenan Yildiz’s shot from the back area superbly. But the Czech goalkeeper injured his shoulder while parrying Yildiz’s shot. Stanek remained down for a moment, but then picked himself up in the heat of the moment, grabbing his right shoulder, which was hanging down a little. The shoulder had obviously dislocated. Stanek also briefly raised his other hand in protest – to no avail.
In this scene it happened: Jindrich Stanek, Czech goalkeeper, injured his shoulder
What: REUTERS
Referee Istvan Kovacs, who did not cut a good figure in the heated match, allowed the attack to continue and the Turks continued playing. After a failed attempt to defend by the Czechs, the ball landed at Hakan Calhanoglu’s feet moments later. The Turkish captain then smashed the ball into the far corner from the left. The injured Stanek could no longer react properly and collapsed after the goal with a face contorted in pain. Teammates and team doctors immediately rushed to the goalkeeper, who was writhing on the ground in pain.
After a lengthy treatment, Stanek trudged towards the catacombs. Czech substitute keeper Matej Kovar came on for him. The Turks’ goal counted.
Czech Republic’s injured goalkeeper is led from the Hamburg pitch by his coaches
Quelle: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
The question is whether the referee would have stopped the game or taken the goal back if Stanek had remained lying down after the first save. The rules of the European football association UEFA state under the heading “Injuries”: “If a player is injured, the referee should stop the game if the injury is, or appears to be, serious. If a player is, or appears to be, only slightly injured, the referee should allow the game to continue.”
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It was therefore within the discretion of the referee to stop the game. Since Stanek picked himself up despite his injured shoulder, the referee probably assumed that the injury was minor. The Czech goalkeeper’s painful effort was ultimately not rewarded.
