Austria went down 2-0 to Hungary in their Euro 2016 opener, and there was one huge talking point.
Minutes after Ádám Szalai’s well-worked goal gave the underdogs the lead, Austria thought they’d equalised through Martin Hinteregger.
However, not only was the goal ruled out for a foul, but that foul brought a second yellow card for defender Aleksandar Dragović.
The Dinamo Kyiv man will now miss the match against Portugal at the Parc des Princes, while Zoltán Stieber’s smart late finish locked up all three points for Bernd Storck’s team.
RED! Dragovic is sent off for a second bookable offence #AUT #EURO2016 https://t.co/BcOiO9wxMc
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2016
There haven’t been many more divisive moments in the tournament, and few more damaging to a team’s chances.
Many were convinced referee Clément Turpin made the right call.
Dragovic sent off for late challenge in the box…good call from the ref! Austria with plenty to do now!
— Adam Brandon (@AdamBrandon84) June 14, 2016
Even if the second booking was strict, it was surely a foul.
Cracking finish disallowed for a foul, which is sort of a bad one but the red seems pretty harsh
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) June 14, 2016
We need to spare a thought for the real victims in this, though
https://twitter.com/IBWMJeff/status/742769666603552768
https://twitter.com/JTurnerrrrr/status/742777443174514688
Austria will have it all to do against Portugal in their second group game, while a positive result against Iceland could all but guarantee Hungary’s progress to the second round.
If you’re still following, people have had to update the current state of play. Got it? Good.
ICYMI: Hungary are the new Austria, who were the new Belgium.
— William Abbs (@WilliamAbbs) June 14, 2016
