Serious EM accusations

“Arrogant!” ÖFB opponents Turkey angry despite promotion

Both the Turks and the Czechs are annoyed by the performance of referee Istvan Kovacs.(Bild: AFP/Ronny HARTMANN)

Anger despite promotion! After the narrow 2:1 win against the Czech Republic, Turkey heavily criticized referee Istvan Kovacs. "He was arrogant, you couldn't talk to him at all," complained captain and figurehead Hakan Calhanoglu, who will be suspended for the round of 16 against Austria.

There were a total of 18 yellow cards in the match between Turkey and the Czech Republic on Wednesday evening - a new European Championship record. There were also two red cards for the Czechs Antonin Barak and Tomas Chory.

"The best referee is the one who doesn't influence the game," said an annoyed Czech captain Tomas Soucek: "But this referee wanted to be the man of the match."

Card with bitter consequences
But Turkey also made serious accusations. For Calhanoglu, the referee was a "disaster". "I ran to the referee and tried to drive my players away. I then tried to talk to him," he explained. "He immediately gave me a yellow card." A card with bitter consequences - the Turkish star will now have to watch on against Austria in the round of 16.