Brutal foul puts Red Bull’s title bid in doubt
Bundesliga match action was overshadowed by a horrendous foul against Red Bull Salzburg keeper Eddie Gustafsson at the weekend.The Swede who captains the champions suffered a broken shin bone and calf bone when LASK Linz striker Lukas Kragl rammed his foot against his calf after he cleared a ball yesterday (Sun).The 33-year-old goalkeeper is ruled out for at least half a year, while it has to be seen whether he can continue his career depending on how well he will recover from the serious injury.Red Bull coach Huub Stevens criticised referee Harald Lechner for not showing Kragl a red card after the attack.”Im worried whats going on in the league considering such a foul was not followed by a red card,” the Dutchman said.Asked whether he regarded the goalless draw as a setback in the race for the title, he said: “I dont care about winning or not winning the title at the moment. That would be inappropriate.”Kragl, who was booked with yellow after the incident, meanwhile said he was “deeply sorry” about what had happened. “I apologised to Gustafsson and wished him all the best. He accepted my apology and only said I should have been more careful. But such things do happen in football, I think.”Leaders Red Bull face second-placed Rapid Vienna on Friday. The team of Peter Pacult are six points behind after beating Magna Wiener Neustadt 3-0 on Saturday. It was a special occasion for Wiener Neustadt coach Peter Schöttel since the retired defender had played in more than 500 matches for Rapid. No other player performed more often than the Viennese who has never played at a different club in his whole career.Third-placed Austria Vienna beat bottom lights Austria Kärnten 2-0, while Ried won against Kapfenberg 2-1. The match between Mattersburg and Sturm Graz ended 0-0.The Bundesliga table after 31 rounds:Red Bull Salzburg, 69 pointsRapid Vienna, 63Austria Vienna, 60Sturm Graz, 52Magna Wiener Neustadt, 40Mattersburg, 37SV Ried, 35LASK Linz, 33Kapfenberg, 26Austria Kärnten, 11