Goalkeeper intentionally ruins field, causes opponent to miss penalty shot
Augsburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz has come under fire following his decision on Saturday to use his cleats to cause a huge divet in the field which resulted in Cologne’s Anthony Modeste missing a critical penalty shot. Critics are calling it a disgusting lack of sportsmanship, and it helped solidify an Augsburg victory after the team scored six minutes after this incident.
Hitz didn’t apologize for his decision, but did say it wouldn’t happen again.
“That wasn’t the most fair thing to do,” he said. “When I see that, that’s not me. It won’t happen again. I have never saved a penalty before so I thought I would just make the taker a little bit unsure. A lot of things come together when something like this happens: a full stadium, a frantic game and ... one thinking that it wasn’t a penalty to start off with.”
Smart tactical decision or dirty play? That’s up for the court of public opinion to decide.
h/t The Guardian
