The head knockout of Amadou Haidara (26) and its consequences!
On Saturday, the midfielder from RB Leipzig received a kick to the head from Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface (23) and had to be substituted while dazed. It is now clear that he suffered a concussion and had to cancel the games with the Malian national team. But that’s not all…
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Leipzig manager Marcel Schäfer (40) had feared the worse. “I was worried about his knee. He was no longer conscious when he fell and his knee gave way completely,” he says. “But he’s doing OK.”
However, the terrible scenes have made the discussion about how to deal with serious injuries in games louder again. Especially when it affects the head. Many leagues use a FIFA rule that, since 2021, allows a sixth substitution if a player has to leave the field with a head injury. The English Premier League is also involved. The DFL is opposed to the introduction of this rule.
Marcel Schäfer is Managing Director of Sport at RB Leipzig
Photo: WITTERS
Schäfer brings a compromise into play. “We have to talk about substitutions in the event of injuries. One of three substitution slots is taken away from the teams if they have to make an early substitution. This puts extreme tactical restrictions on the coach,” says the Leipzig player. What he means is that teams are allowed to make five substitutions during a game, but only at three different times. This is why two or three players are often swapped at once. If an injured player has to go off early, a substitution period is used for just this substitution.
“For this reason, for example, we had to make a triple substitution during the game in Leverkusen,” says Schäfer. “I would be in favor of an additional slot in the case of proven medical substitutions.” This means that if a player has to leave the team injured, none of the three usual substitution times will be canceled.
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There is also now a debate about whether overhead kicks should still be allowed in the penalty area. Boniface Haidara scored in this way. The reason for this consideration is that the risk of overhead kicks is often impossible to calculate. Schäfer is not in favor of a general ban, but says: “We need clear rules from the DFB to punish headers.”
Either way: Haidara is recovering from his headache in Leipzig and is expected to play for RB again after the international break.
