As someone who has played the sport of soccer since I was three years old, I’ve seen some real, insane mother fucking shit before, with opposing players viciously going after the legs of teammates to rattle them and “inadvertent” elbows being thrown during a challenge in the air.
All those pale in comparison to this slide tackle from Rapid Vienna player Stefan Schwab, who went in with two feet and his studs up during a Champions League qualifying match against Ajax, taking out Jairo Riedewald and immediately getting sent off with a red card.
#Schwab Vijf sterren rode kaart 100% terecht #rapaja pic.twitter.com/Q0HZgHlQCy
— Mario van der Ende (@MariovanderEnde) July 29, 2015
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Thankfully, Schwab didn’t cause too much damage—besides hurting his own team by forcing them to play a man down—but, fuck, how bad could this have actually turned out being?
Usually, insane plays like this are reserved for D-leagues in smaller countries, not between two teams who could find themselves in the Champions League.
Look, there will always be crazy bastards in every sport who will try and hurt another player, but Stefan Schwab was dumb enough to go all-in and not even try to disguise his savage attempt.