NEWS
Schlager Fuming: "I might as well stay at home"
The Austria international is flabbergasted by the pitch conditions in Pristina and also has to contend with the referee.
Xaver Schlager is – to put it in good Austrian – absolutely furious.
With the Austrian national team, the England-based professional secured a 1-1 draw against Kosovo on Sunday (Match report>>>), but he had to contend not only with a difficult opponent but also with barely acceptable pitch conditions at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina.
"The game was extremely challenging. Playing one-touch football was impossible, every ball bounced unpredictably. It had little to do with football; it was just kicking the ball forward, fighting, and hoping the referee would blow for something – which wasn't always the case," Schlager vented on "ORF".
The 29-year-old apologized: "I genuinely feel sorry for anyone who had to watch that today. That was nothing."
"How we feel about it is ultimately irrelevant"
Schlager was the only Austrian to play every minute of all four Nations League matches during the new, extensive international break. It was therefore extremely demanding for him to have to play on such a damaged pitch.
He described it as "madness" that UEFA is now scheduling four international matches in ten days. "If I have such a window and then such a pitch, I don't need to play football. I might as well stay at home and do something more sensible," the tireless midfielder stated clearly.
His clear message: "The main thing is that we have games, but how we feel about it is ultimately irrelevant."
"Apparently there's no VAR either"
The Portuguese referee team led by Antonio Nobre, whose clear line was barely discernible, seemed to have matched the poor pitch conditions. Furthermore, there were three controversial incidents against Austria where the VAR did not intervene.
Schlager himself was involved in one such incident. After losing possession, Kosovo star Edon Zhegrova was so annoyed that he kicked the turf out of frustration, hitting Schlager in the process.
"Apparently there's no VAR either. Someone hit me during the game. Even if it wasn't intentional, that's what you have the VAR for," the Lower Austrian said, flabbergasted.
