Tribal Football

Bayern Munich pair Neuer, Eberl slam Donnarumma over Musiala injury

Paul Vegas
Bayern Munich pair Neuer, Eberl slam Donnarumma over Musiala injury
Bayern Munich pair Neuer, Eberl slam Donnarumma over Musiala injuryČTK / imago sportfotodienst / Scott W. Coleman
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has blasted his PSG counterpart Gigio Donnarumma after the ugly injury suffered by Jamal Musiala.

PSG defeated Bayern in their Club World Cup quarterfinal, though the tie was marred by a suspected broken ankle suffered by Musiala after a collision with Donnarumma.

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In the mixed zone afterwards, Neuer snapped: "It's a situation where you accept the risk of injuring the player. A situation where, in my opinion, you shouldn't get involved. But hey, we're keeping our fingers crossed that it's not too serious, even though it certainly will be.

"Throwing yourself at the player like that is taking a risk. He simply accepts the opponent's injury. And then, nothing happens, no punishment.

"I went over to Donnarumma and said, 'Don't you want to go see him there?' Jamal is lying there, he'll most likely stay in the hospital, I think it's only right, out of respect, to go and wish him a speedy recovery and apologize. And only then did he go see Jamal.

"His reaction after the injury? I don't know. Italians are very emotional. It's up to each individual to decide whether to believe him or not. You always have to play fair. I would have reacted differently."

 

There was a man in front of him

Bayern sporting director Max Eberl also appeared in the mixed zone to react.

"If I jump on an opponent's leg with 100 kilos during a sprint, the risk of an accident is high. It's tragic, but I don't think for a second that he did it on purpose.

"However, he didn't really take into consideration the fact that there was a man there. He took that risk, but I wouldn't want that to be interpreted as a reproach."