Anderlecht was pleased with the victory in Slavia Prague. Yet there was also a dark side to this match. In the first half there was a big fight between defender Mathias Zanka Jorgensen and Slavia striker Tomas Chory. Zanka was affected and furious. The attacker had racially abused him. The Dane had also started talking to the ref at the start of the match. No one wanted to say out loud what exactly was said, but according to our information it was way over the line. It wasn’t a comparison to a monkey, but more explicit than that.
Coach David Hubert did go into more detail about the incident. “Things were said there that absolutely do not belong on a football field. Not anywhere,” says Hubert. “Our player heard what he heard. I don’t understand how people come up with things like that and yes, then Zanka doesn’t let himself be bothered. I understand that the referee didn’t catch it and that the people in the stadium thought time was being wasted, but that was not the case. Honestly, I really just wanted to get off the field. Coosemans talked to Zanka. Congratulations for maintaining his concentration afterwards. We will take the necessary steps. Anderlecht will file a complaint with UEFA, because there are the necessary protocols for that.”
The logical consequence is that there will be an investigation. Tomas Chory is no stranger to Belgium. Slavia Prague’s top scorer played a season at Zulte Waregem a few years ago. UEFA takes racism very seriously and is campaigning intensely against it. In addition, the Czech audience threw all kinds of objects at Colin Coosemans after the whistle. The goalkeeper was even hit by a nut. “Luckily it landed on my calf,” he said.
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© IMAGO/Branislav Racko
Verschaeren: Friday examination
The racism incident already overshadowed other facts, but we also have to look at Yari Verschaeren’s injury. He was substituted at half-time with a shoulder injury and will undergo examinations and a scan on Friday after the return flight to Brussels. Verschaeren left the Slavia stadium with his arm wrapped in a support brace and was dejected. It doesn’t look good. “It’s his shoulder and not his collarbone,” Hubert added. “Yari was torpedoed and fell badly. At halftime he had difficulty and pain to lift his arm. We’ll see how bad it is. It’s a shame, because Yari was good in the last two matches and now he also scored.”
It would be a downer for Anderlecht, because Vertonghen, Hazard, Stroeykens, Sardella, Edozie, Degreef and Ashimeru are also injured.
© BELGIUM
