The match between Sion and St.Gallen is turbulent in stoppage time: the supposed 3:2 does not count, there is a scuffle and red cards are shown. Referee Nico Gianforte gives blue Sport his view of the situation.
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- Sion score a last-minute goal against St.Gallen to make it 3-2, but the goal doesn't count because referee Nico Gianforte had already interrupted the game.
- After the game, the referee explains to blue Sport why he blew his whistle in the middle of a Sion attack and then showed several red cards. There was also one for Barthélémy Constantin.
- "When officials come onto the pitch who don't belong on the pitch, they get a red card. That's why I followed the rules," Gianforte clarifies.
On the last day of the "Week of the Referee", the referee is once again the center of attention. The 95th minute has already begun at the Tourbillon. Sion launch a final attack - and Dejan Djokic actually scores to make it 3:2. But the supposed winner does not count. Referee Nico Gianforte had interrupted the game beforehand.
The reason: there were scuffles in the Wallis penalty area. St.Gallen striker Willem Geubbels got into a fight with half the Sion team after Geubbels had gone to ground following a tackle.
Gianforte explained to blue Sport after the game: "I decided to play on (after the tackle) and turned away. There was a counter-attack, but during the counter-attack I got the input from outside that I should stop the game because there was a scuffle. The whistle came just before the goal."
He had seen Geubbels and Sion goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu "tearing at each other's collars". "This image is simply not part of football, it's grossly unsportsmanlike and that's why both were shown a red card," said the referee.
Constantin storms onto the pitch
Sion assistant coach Benjamin Bertrand was also shown a straight red, storming onto the pitch as if stung by a tarantula and complaining to Gianforte. But that's not all. Sion boss Christian Constantin and his son Barthélémy also enter the pitch. The latter, at least, also sees the red card after loudly telling the referee off.
"The rules are clear. If officials come onto the pitch who don't belong on the pitch, they get a red card. That's why I followed the rules," explains Gianforte.
Nevertheless, the Wallis players are still very frustrated. "If we had started [the pack formation, editor's note], the whistle would have been okay, but they provoked the altercation. Perhaps the counter-attack should have been played out to the end," said Sion coach Didier Tholot angrily to blue Sport. "It's just annoying because I think we deserved to win."
The game ended 2-2 and Sion remained without a win for the seventh time in a row.
