How ÖFB star Arnautovic settled Sturm against Red Star

On the pitch, of course, he gave it his all as best he could. After just a few minutes his Injury to the adductors acute again, the 36-year-old held out until the break. “It wasn’t 100 percent healed, it opened up a bit again. I took a risk, maybe it was a mistake to play, but we won the game, so I’m very happy,” said the Viennese with Serbian roots after the match.

That offered a lot for him. He took a foul on him (Malic hit him in the head with his leg) like the pain. And of course things got tough, after a foul on Mitchell he saw them yellow card. “Whenever I come back to Austria, it gets emotional. It felt good, it was a bit heated, that’s part of it.” The little banter with some fans is part of it.

Ball boy joy

But Arnautovic, who has been playing in Belgrade since the summer, was particularly impressive as an arbitrator. When the police wanted to arrest a Serbian fan who had jumped over the fence at the stadium, Arnautovic played the intermediary. After the game he gave Austrian and Serbian fans (who were mostly extremely disciplined) Autographsone Ballbuben he gave his body.

Arnautovic’s friend who was present was also celebrated by the Serbian fans Aleksandar Dragovicwho earned his money at Red Star from 2021 to 2024. Spicy: The former ÖFB team player is the opponent of Graz on Sunday – he scores with them Austria on Sturm (5 p.m., ORF1 and Sky).