Frankfurt’s David Abraham sent off for barging over opposition coach as Bundesliga match ends in chaos
Two red cards, a mass brawl, and a coach lying flat on the floor by the touchline — it wasn’t your average end to a football game.
A Bundesliga match descended into mayhem after Eintracht Frankfurt captain David Abraham knocked Freiburg coach Christian Streich to the ground as his side trailed 1-0 in injury time.
As Abraham was running to collect the ball for a throw-in with his team searching for a late equalizer, he made a beeline for Streich, bumping the 54-year-old to the ground in the process.
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A melee ensued, after which Abraham and Freiburg midfielder Vincenzo Grifo, who had been substituted earlier in the match, were both sent off. Frankfurt’s assistant coach Florian Bruns was also yellow carded.
“David Abraham is a very emotional player,” said Streich. “He ran towards me at full speed, wanted to grab the ball and score a goal somehow. I couldn’t avoid him, and he ran me over. That’s all.
“We should all calm down now and stop talking about this thoughtlessly. Football is a contact sport — even though the implementation was clearly in the wrong place.”
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Frankfurt board member Fredi Bobic said that Abraham had been provoked, but that didn’t excuse his actions.
“It’s a shame that an otherwise decent game had to end like that,” said Bobic. “What exactly happened will stay amongst those involved. The fact is that there will be consequences for everyone.”
Nils Petersen’s second-half goal, his 50th in the league for Freiburg, meant the game finished 1-0 after Gelson Fernandes had also received a red card at the end of the first period for a second yellow.
The result sees Freiburg climb to fourth in the Bundesliga table, while Frankfurt, which had swept aside reigning champion Bayern Munich 5-1 the previous week, drops to ninth.
