Football professional Erencan Yardimci from Eintracht Braunschweig has publicly apologized for his stranglehold in the second division derby against Hannover 96. “In such an important game, I lost control on the pitch in a moment full of emotions and let my team down in such a crucial game,” the 23-year-old striker wrote on Instagram.
Yardimci grabbed his opponent Boris Tomiak’s neck with both hands and was shown a red card in the 20th minute when the score was 0-0. Being outnumbered, the Braunschweig team ultimately lost 0:3 (0:2) against their arch rivals. Eintracht coach Heiner Backhaus has already announced a fine for the loan player from 1899 Hoffenheim. The verdict of the DFB sports court in this case is still pending.
“I am truly very sad about what happened yesterday and I realize that the consequences have affected each of us,” Yardimci wrote. What is striking about the post is that the attacker apologizes “to my teammates, the coaching team and especially to our fans” – but not to his opponent Tomiak.