Cody Gakpo suggests a big change to UEFA rules after a tricky moment in Jurgen Klopp’s first game with Germany.
Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo wasn’t happy with Germany after their Nations League game against the Netherlands on Thursday. He felt it was wrong for Germany to keep playing when one of the Dutch players was injured on the field.
Gakpo scored a fantastic equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time in Amsterdam, stopping new Germany coach and former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp from winning his very first match. Felix Nmecha scored first for Germany, but just as Germany was attacking, Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey went down with an injury near the center circle.
Brobbey stayed down when Nmecha scored and had to leave the game because of a muscle injury. Later, Gakpo scored a stunning goal from a great cross by Ruben van Bommel, who was making his debut.
After the match, Gakpo said, “I think it’s normal to stop playing when a player is injured, even if there are no rules about it. Germany didn’t stop, and that isn’t fair.”
Klopp probably isn’t too bothered by Gakpo’s words. The injury situation was tough for Germany, who also lost Arsenal’s Kai Havertz earlier in the game. They took the lead just a few minutes after Havertz went off, but then had to deal with Brobbey’s injury too.
Thanks to Van Bommel and Gakpo, the Netherlands managed a dramatic late equalizer, with Gakpo showing great skill to finish off the cross.
Actually, it’s quite normal in football for the game to continue even if a player is down injured. Sometimes, teams choose to stop the play by kicking the ball out, but it’s up to them, and the referee decides when to stop the game.
According to the rules, referees only stop play if a player is seriously hurt. If the injury isn’t too bad, they usually let the game go on until the ball is out of play.
Gakpo knows this, but these days, teams rarely stop the game on their own to be fair. That’s because letting players decide used to cause confusion and arguments.
So, while Gakpo’s point shows he cares about fair play, the way the game was handled wasn’t unusual by today’s standards.