When the missile rushed just a few centimeters past his head, Roger Schmidt didn’t hesitate. First the German coach from Benfica Lisbon picks up the plastic water bottle from the floor and throws it back into the audience – a little later he sees the red card.
Coach Roger Schmidt is threatened with a ban in Portugal after a scandal: the German coach of Portuguese record champions Benfica Lisbon was sent off in the 2-0 win at FC Vizela because he threw a plastic water bottle back into the crowd. The bottle had flown from the stands behind the Benfica bench onto the field just before the final whistle and almost hit Schmidt in the head, who was celebrating the goal to make it 2-0.
Now Schmidt has to wait for the extent of the lock. He will be able to cope with that because the weekend went very well for him and for Benfica otherwise. Thanks to their own victory and the completely surprising 2-1 defeat of pursuers FC Porto on Sunday at home to Gil Vicente, the “Adler” were able to extend the gap to the defending champions and arch-rivals to eight points after 22 of a total of 34 games.
“Yes, I reacted a little to the provocations of the fans behind me. And that’s not allowed, so I accept the red card. That’s all,” the 55-year-old explained to journalists after the league match on Saturday evening. After the bottle was thrown, he also discussed things with the rowdy fans of the home team. After the red card, he “bid farewell” to the Vizela supporters by showing the end result with both hands on the way to the dressing room. He held up two fingers on one hand and indicated a zero with the other.
In this regard, Schmidt is not a blank slate from his time in the Bundesliga. As coach of Bayer Leverkusen, he was banned twice for misconduct. Benfica leads the table in Portugal twelve games before the end of the season with eight points ahead of FC Porto, the first championship since 2019 beckons. Schmidt and his team are on course for the quarter-finals in the Champions League. In the round of 16 first leg, they beat FC Bruges 2-0, the second leg takes place in Lisbon on March 7th.
