Eduardo can sleep easy as Standard Liege brute Witsel gets 11 game ban

15 September 2009 18:45
It is the sort of tackle Arsenal striker Eduardo probably has nightmares about. Standard Liege midfielder Axel Witsel has been suspended for a sensational 11 matches for a foul that resulted in a double fracture to the right leg of an Anderlecht player. Although the victim - Polish defender Marcin Wasilewski - may not see it like this, the bright side for Eduardo is that he will now not have to feel the force of one of Witsel's 'reducers' when his side travels to Belgium to play in the Champions League next week. Witsel, 20, is facing the prospect of missing Standard's first four Champions League matches, including the home game against Arsenal on Wednesday night.  Looking back at the gruesome broken leg Eduardo suffered at Birmingham City in 2008 it's possibly no wonder the Arsenal striker falls over before an onrushing defender can make any contact, as witnessed against Celtic last month. But if the Croatia star, appearing at Wembley against England on Wednesday night, thought he had it bad at St Andrews, he's seen nothing until he's witnessed the aftermath of Witsel's terrible tackle. After 25 minutes of the Belgian first division clash the two players converged on the right flank of Anderlecht's half, with Wasilewski beating Witzel to the ball with a sliding challenge. But Witsel was not done yet, stamping down with his right boot onto the exposed leg of the defender. Wasilewski's lower leg can then be clearly seen contorted and twisted, flailing around as if barely still attached. Witsel, who won Belgium's 'Golden Shoe' for the country's best player in 2008, has been suspended until November23 - which equates to 11 matches - and was also fined 2,500 euros (£2,200) by the Belgian FA for the appalling challenge. And despite making a public apology, Witzel has received death threats over the incident, and the police are investigating.

Source: Daily_Mail