Criticism of Openda after provocative cheer in "one-way street

Leipzig's new goal scorer Loïs Openda has taken criticism even from within his own ranks after a provocative cheer in the 3-1 win at Darmstadt. "After the third step, he also knew it was a one-way street. The next time he knows that he better run in the other direction," said RB sports director Rouven Schröder after the much-discussed scene in the Bundesliga match on Saturday.

Openda had scored after only 44 seconds the 1-0. His second goal was preceded by a VAR decision because of a possible offside position. When referee Harm Osmers then nevertheless pointed in the direction of kick-off, the Belgian international ran in the direction of the Darmstadt fan stand and cheered loudly. Some Lilien fans in the stadium at the Böllenfalltor felt so provoked by this that they jumped over the fence and could only be calmed down again with difficulty.

"This is a situation that I do not like as a Darmstadt player, especially as captain. The fans were just angry," said Lilien goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen. "I got feedback from the Leipzigers, who apologized to me." Openda himself spoke of just wanting to celebrate with his teammates. Leipzig's coach Marco Rose had not seen the scene according to his own information and said, "If he provoked someone, then he did not do it on purpose."

The Lilien professionals and officials were also angry about a scene directly before the pre-decisive goal by Openda, who now already has six goals to his credit. "Before the 3:1 Openda falls the ball on the arm. That was just hand. In Dortmund in front of 85 000, that would probably have been whistled," said Schuhen. His coach Torsten Lieberknecht said: "That's handball, you can definitely give. There is an advantage from it."