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The 18-year-old came on in the 74th minute with the score at 2-0 for Konstantinos Karetsas. The Italian barely had time to make an impact. Just two and a half minutes after coming on, he was late in a challenge with Albert Grönbaek and caught the Hamburg player on the ankle with an outstretched leg. Referee Felix Zwayer did not hesitate and showed the youngster a red card.
His frustration then spilled over off the pitch too. In the tunnel area, the attacking player hurled a bottle against a wall several times. One of them of all things hit the BVB crest with full force. That scene is unlikely to have gone down well with the Dortmund supporters.
Anton defends Inacio - Matthäus criticises BVB scene
After the final whistle, captain Waldemar Anton still showed understanding for his team-mate in an interview with Sky. "Those are emotions, my God. That's part of it. I don't think he meant it like that. It looks bad, but those are the emotions that come out of you. I'd rather have a player like that who is angry than one who doesn't care." Record appearance holder Lothar Matthäus saw it differently and criticised it: "I find that even worse than the foul. In the end, it's the logo, and that's not on."
On the foul itself, Anton said: "It was obviously a brutal action. He is a young player and highly motivated to come on. It starts a little earlier up the pitch. In the second half we got a little sloppy. It's obviously annoying for the lad because he has enormous qualities. To get a red card like that is maximally bitter."
Inacio also had backing from coach Niko Kovac. The BVB boss did not want to blame his player for the incident. "He was late, but he doesn't have to go off for that. He catches him, you can give it. I just came into the dressing room. The lad was sitting there crying. You can imagine how the lad felt. First red card here as a Bundesliga professional in this stadium. He certainly didn't do the team any favours. You can imagine what goes through a young lad's mind."
Getty ImagesAsked what he had told his player afterwards, Kovac replied: "Life goes on. You don't do that on purpose. He has to learn from it. That's what we want. The lad is emotionally involved."
Saturday was only Inacio's second competitive appearance of the current season. The attacking player had already featured in the Supercup against Bayern Munich (1-2). The Italian made his debut for the senior team last season before earning a permanent promotion from the reserve team to the professional squad in the summer.
That was not the only sour note for BVB on Saturday, however. In the league triumph, star new signing Giannis Konstantelias, who scored the goal for 2-0, also had to go off, possibly with a serious knee injury. BVB are back in action as early as Tuesday when they face Hamburg-Eimsbütteler Ballspiel-Club in the first round of the DFB Cup.