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"That's extremely dangerous": Former referee calls for a red card after a horror foul on VfB Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller

During VfB Stuttgart's win over Bayer Leverkusen, Angelo Stiller escaped serious punishment despite a reckless foul. Former referee Manuel Gräfe later insisted that the midfielder should have been shown a red card.

Edmond Tapsoba slid in with a robust challenge on the German international's calf inside the penalty area as he tried to clear the ball. The forward's right leg buckled beneath him, leaving him writhing on the turf in pain. Referee Robert Schröder saw things differently and waved away penalty appeals, allowing the Werkself centre-back to escape punishment. The VAR also chose not to intervene. A clear misjudgement, explained Gräfe.

Since Tapsoba had played the ball first, the incident was admittedly "difficult to spot". "But you have to at least turn your studs away afterwards. You can't just say: 'I played the ball, so the rest doesn't matter.' When you charge in like that and catch an opponent on the fibula with your studs, causing the leg to buckle at the ankle, it's a serious health risk—penalty and red card," Gräfe wrote on X.
Stiller received brief treatment and continued playing. Tapsoba, however, was not done attracting controversy: shortly before half-time he brought down VfB striker Ermedin Demirovic to concede another penalty. Maxi Mittelstädt converted the spot-kick to give the Swabians a well-deserved 2-1 lead; they ultimately won 3-1 thanks to a late goal from Deniz Undav, taking a significant step towards Champions League qualification.

AFP
VfB Stuttgart: Concerns also surrounded Deniz Undav.
Going into the final matchday, VfB Stuttgart are level on points with fourth-placed rivals TSG Hoffenheim. In Saturday's season finale, Stuttgart host Eintracht Frankfurt, while Hoffenheim travel to Gladbach. Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, must hope other results go their way and then do their own job against Hamburg SV to secure a Champions League spot.
There was also a scare for Undav, who went down in the 68th minute and had to be substituted. As with Stiller, though, the all-clear was quickly given. "He'd already been feeling some discomfort during the week. It won't be an injury, but he realised it was getting worse," said coach Sebastian Hoeneß after the match.