Dedryck Boyata had a nightmare in his first ever Bundesliga Berlin derby – not that fans of Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are too concerned.
If you’re trying to win over your new supporters, giving away a penalty in the dying minutes of the first ever top flight derby against your bitter rivals isn’t exactly the best way to go about things.
So when Dedryck Boyata threw himself into a challenge as the clock ticked down during a historic Bundesliga meeting between Hertha and Union Berlin, he must have regretted his decision almost immediately.
Former QPR striker Sebastian Polter fired the resulting spot kick into the net to spark wild celebrations at Union’s decadent old stadium, the Berlin sky illuminated by fireworks and flares and the vociferous home support celebrating into the night as their wildest dreams came true in front of their eyes.
The result leaves Hertha just four points above the drop zone with three wins in 10 matches to their name. And Boyata had little choice but to make a grovelling public apology, just weeks after he finally forced his way out of Celtic and sealed a summer move to the German capital.
”I apologise to our supporters. These things happen in football. I didn’t try to foul him and it’s very disappointing,” the Dutchman said, as reported by the Sun.
‘Disappointing’ is an understatement. Hertha fans have waited for this game for a lifetime and, thanks to the sort of ill-timed error Celtic are all too familiar with, it ended in disaster.
Not that you’ll find too many Celtic supporters feeling sympathy with a man who made it his mission for the best part of a year to escape the green half of Glasgow.
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