This is what FCSG-Schmidt says about Schwalben’s accusations: “That’s why I let myself go!”

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The swallow is truly a sad bird! Precisely because it flies very low to the ground while hunting insects, its name is mentioned in the same breath as the most disliked thing in football: falling into the opponent’s penalty area!

But one swallow doesn’t make a summer. And she is not always what she seems at first glance. Such as in the case of Isaac Schmidt (23). On the last match day, he received a yellow card shortly before half-time in the 4-2 win against Winterthur because he went down in an ongoing duel with Winti defender Lüthi. There is no visible contact, the matter is clear at first glance. Former Super League referee Pascal Erlachner says: “It looks like Schwalbe to me. The player seeks contact and then falls. What’s exciting for me is that the contact is on the right leg and then he goes to the ground with his left leg.”

That’s what Isaac Schmidt says

Schmidt says: “I had been having pain in my left thigh for half an hour and didn’t want to injure myself more seriously. That’s why I was too careful when I sprinted across the field and fell down to protect myself during the game. But I stood up immediately and didn’t complain that it was a violation. Because of the thigh injury I stayed in the locker room during half time.”

He is not a swallow king, Schmidt claims. And this despite the fact that he received three yellow cards within a year for alleged epilepsy. Last October, he was sent off the field with a yellow and red card in the 0-1 win against Winterthur. Although there was hardly any contact with the opponent at the time, he was wrongly sent off the field, Schmidt says: “When I dribble, I often jump up. But I am not looking for the fault or the swallow.”

Nobody wants to know about epilepsy

A week earlier, Schmidt also received a yellow card for a swallow in the 2-3 defeat against FCB. In this case too, it was very easy for Schmidt, but there was contact, according to the left back: “And when I enter the penalty area with my speed, a small touch is often enough to throw me off balance.”

That was not the case on the last match day against Winterthur. But no one in St. Gallen wants to know about epilepsy. “That was definitely not something to swallow,” says FCSG coach Peter Zeidler. And he receives support from former top referee Urs Meier. He sees neither swallow nor foul in the action. “In this case, continuing to play would have been a good decision.”

Will Schmidt do well in Basel today? Will he fall again in the opponent’s penalty area?

Source : Blick