“I find that even worse”: bottle thrown by BVB jewel sparks heated debate

In Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 opening win against Hamburger SV, Samuele Inacio endured an evening to forget.

The 18-year-old came on in the 74th minute with the score at 2-0 in place of Konstantinos Karetsas. The Italian did not have long to show what he could do, however. Just two and a half minutes after coming on, he was late in a challenge with Albert Grönbaek and caught the Hamburg player on the ankle with an outstretched leg. Referee Felix Zwayer did not hesitate for long and duly showed the youngster the red card.

Frustration then spilled over off the pitch too. In the tunnel, the attacking player repeatedly hurled a bottle against a wall. One of them struck the BVB badge of all things with full force. That scene is unlikely to have gone down well with Dortmund supporters.

Anton defends Inacio - Matthäus criticises BVB scene

After the final whistle, captain Waldemar Anton still showed understanding for his team-mate in an interview with Sky. "Those are emotions, that is part of it. I don't think he meant it like that." Record international Lothar Matthäus saw it differently and said: "I find that even worse than the foul. In the end, it is the logo, and that is not on." Anton replied: "It looks bad, but those are simply the emotions that come out of you. I'd rather have a player like that, who is angry, than one who smiles as if he doesn't care."

On the foul itself, the captain said: "It is of course a brutal challenge. He is a young player and highly motivated to come on. It starts a little earlier further up the pitch. In the second half we became a little sloppy. It is of course annoying for the lad because he has enormous qualities. To get a red card like that is extremely bitter."

Later, Inacio also received backing from coach Niko Kovac. The BVB boss did not want to reproach his player over the incident. "He was late, but he doesn't have to go off for that. He catches him, you can give it. I have just come into the dressing room. The lad was sitting there crying. You can imagine how the lad felt. First red card here as a Bundesliga professional in this stadium. It certainly did the team no favours. You can imagine what is going through a young lad's mind."

Asked what he had said to his player, Kovac replied: "Life goes on. You do not do that on purpose. He has to learn from it. That is what we want. The lad is emotionally involved."

This was only Inacio's second competitive appearance of the current season. The attacking player had already featured in the Supercup against Bayern Munich (1-2). The Italian made his debut for the senior team last season before earning a permanent promotion from the reserve side to the professional squad in the summer.

Saturday did not bring BVB just one sour note. In the league triumph, star new signing Giannis Konstantelias, who scored the goal for 2-0, also had to be substituted and may have suffered a serious knee injury. BVB are back in action as early as Tuesday, when they face Hamburg-Eimsbütteler Ballspiel-Club in the first round of the DFB Cup.