Super League
Marcel Koller is at a loss following the penalty incident in stoppage time of the derby
Keystone
FC Basel won the classic match against Zurich by a narrow 2-1 margin after falling behind. However, a penalty call left FCZ thoroughly baffled.
Today at 13:29
Today at 13:29A wild final few minutes and a wide range of emotions that could hardly be more different: While Basel celebrated three points after their 2-1 victory in the classic match in front of their traveling fans, FC Zurich was left baffled. Confusion over a penalty that was rescinded, which cost the Zurich players a potential last-minute equalizer.
While Stephan Lichtsteiner is reportedly on thin ice in Basel despite three wins in four games, Marcel Koller remains firmly in the driver’s seat in Zurich—despite a poor start to the season.
Penalty Call Sparks Discontent
Three losses in four games—FCZ has won only once. While they managed to mount the desired response against Basel following their 0-5 drubbing against Lugano on Matchday 3, the Zurich team was far from satisfied on Saturday evening after the final whistle.
Not just because of the loss, but also because of how it came about. Just as they did against St. Gallen in the season opener, FCZ squandered a lead. Aside from failing to capitalize on their chances, however, the Zurich team can’t really be blamed for much. Rather, it was a referee’s decision that caused great frustration in the home team’s camp.
So, deep into stoppage time, referee Anojen Kanagasingam awarded a penalty after Flavius Daniliuc handled the ball. The Zurich fans at Letzigrund were already celebrating when the VAR in Volketswil intervened and called the referee over to the sideline to review the play.
“According to the rules, it can’t be a handball.”
And sure enough: Because Daniliuc was hit by his teammate Jonas Harder—and not by a Zurich player—the penalty was rescinded. “Maybe I’m wrong, but I think the VAR is only allowed to intervene if it was a clear mistake. And that wasn’t the case,” an angry Heinz Lindner told SRF after the game. Everyone in the stadium could see that it was a handball, the goalie said.
Referee Anojen Kanagasingam, on the other hand, stated in a TV interview: “On the field, I saw a handball. I had the impression that the ball was played by an attacker.” But on the monitor at the sideline, he then saw that the ball had been played by a defender who was trying to defuse the situation in the penalty area.
“According to the rules, it cannot, in principle, be a handball if the ball comes from one’s own player. The criteria regarding intent and active movement are missing there.” The correction of the call was therefore clear, according to Kanagasingam.
Despite the explanation: In addition to Lindner, FCZ coach Marcel Koller was also visibly fed up: “I don’t know how this rule is applied. I’m at a loss. You just don’t know what, how, where, or when anymore… A handball is normally just a handball.”
We need to do a better job of capitalizing on our chances
But when it comes to the game itself, he, too, recognizes that FCZ didn’t necessarily let the draw—or the win—slip away because of that one play. “Basically, we’re making too many mistakes on defense. On offense, we then have a chance to tie the game, but we either shoot right at the goalie or the goalie makes a good save,” said Koller.
Lindner, who seemed more emotional than ever before in front of the SRF microphone, echoed that sentiment. Basically, everything just went against them, the goalie said. “We had enough chances to decide the game on our own. Salvi played very well today.” Now the team needs to dust itself off and move on. “We know this is part of our development. We showed the kind of response we wanted to show. I’ll say it again: today, the game just didn’t go our way, and we simply have to do even more to force some good luck.”
Zurich will have its next chance to do so this coming Saturday in an away game against Lausanne-Sport, which suffered its first loss of the season this weekend against Lucerne.