UEFA has tripped over its own feet. Arnautovic has been punished with a one-match suspension, in the context of Kudela’s case it is laughable

Even though he was facing the same penalty as Ondrej Kudela and it was obvious that Arnautovic really insulted his opponent, he was only suspended for one game. Czech fans just shake their heads, in the context of the Kudela case this punishment is rather laughable.

The whole incident took place at the end of the match between Austria and Macedonia, when Marko Arnautovic sealed Austria’s 3-1 win with a goal in the 89th minute.

Everything would have gone perfectly fine if Arnautovic had not let his emotions run wild while celebrating the goal. According to the Union of Northern Macedonia, he racially insulted Ezgjan Alioski during the match. The Austrian striker soon apologised for his behaviour, but denied using racist insults.

Does this remind you strongly of the case of Ondrej Kudela? It certainly can, these incidents have a lot in common. However, what is diametrically opposed is the level of punishment. While Ondrej Kúdela was suspended for 10 matches, Arnautovic will only play one match at the Euro.

With this decision, UEFA has tripped over its own feet. Kúdela’s case is still one of unproven racism. Of course, Arnautovic’s racism is also unproven, but there are minor differences in both cases that speak more in favour of Kudela.

While Kudel whispered something in Kamara’s ear and only both actors probably know the content of the message, Arnautovic shouted at Alioski at the top of his lungs. There will definitely be more witnesses here, and Arnautovic, unlike Kudel, did not have his mouth covered, so it should be easier to make out the words he used. Even with the help of the bustling microphones around the pitch.

On the other hand, the two cases also differ in the reaction of the players themselves. While Kamara immediately ran to the referee after the whisper and only fed the whole case in the following moments, Alioski passed over the insult to Arnautovic during the match and sorted everything out with the Austrian striker after the duel. It all ended with an apology, which Alioski accepted. And everything was resolved between the two players.

The complaint to Uefa then did not come from the player himself, but rather from the North Macedonian federation. But UEFA should not make any distinction there. Even so, Kudel was given a threatening ten-match ban, Arnautovic only one.

Not surprisingly, this verdict was taken very badly by Czech fans. From UEFA’s point of view, this is a very unfortunate decision.

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