The Grasshoppers were well on their way to stopping the Espen's winning streak at St.Gallen's Kybunpark and taking a point home to Zurich. However, a harsh penalty whistle thwarted the Hoppers' plans.
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- GC loses 1-0 to FC St.Gallen and suffers its third defeat in the fourth Super League game of the season.
- The only goal of the game was preceded by a controversial decision by referee Lukas Fähndrich. A mistake for GC captain Amir Abrashi and expert Dennis Hediger.
- Refereeing expert Stephan Klossner doesn't want to call it a clear mistake, but says: "For me, he's too strict."
GC kept a clean sheet in the away game at FC St.Gallen until the 81st minute. Then referee Lukas Fähndrich sees a foul by Ayumu Seko on Espen joker Jovan Milosevic in the Zurich penalty area and points to the spot. Milosevic is not asked twice and scores the late winner. The frustration at GC is huge.
"It's difficult for the referee from time to time. But they both hold. And a situation like that decides the game. That hurts a lot," said Amir Abrashi on blue Sport shortly after the final whistle, annoyed by the controversial penalty call, and even after watching the scene, he remained of the same opinion: "They both held. But then we have to stop."
The GC captain receives encouragement from expert Dennis Hediger. "If he gives a free kick, that's okay. But losing in this way is not right." And refereeing expert Stephan Klossner understands the frustration of the Hoppers: "For me, the penalty whistle is very, very strict. It's not catastrophically wrong - not so much that the VAR would have to intervene. But too strict for me."
GC remains stuck at the bottom of the table after the narrow defeat. "We could score a goal, but we're not consistent enough up front," said Abrashi, criticizing his own team's performance. "It's close calls, but we have to work on scoring goals. Otherwise it will be very difficult - precisely with refereeing decisions like that."
