Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira has had a nightmare start to life at Hamburg due to red cards.
Vieira is rated highly at Hamburg, where he will stay for the 2025/26 season, having left Arsenal on loan on deadline day.
The attacking midfielder has only managed to play six times for his loan club so far due to injury and suspension, with another layoff now looming.
During Hamburg’s defeat to FC Koln, Vieira was sent off, collecting his second red card of the Bundesliga season.
Fabio Vieira was controversially sent off for Hamburg
Arsenal have received some controversial red cards in recent years, with Vieira carrying the bad luck with him to Germany.
The Portuguese playmaker might feel like his dismissal against Koln was unjust, as referee Daniel Schlager got comfortable with showing red cards late in the contest.
Four minutes before Vieira’s sending off, Schlager showed Immanuel Pherai two yellow cards within two minutes of the substitute being on the pitch.
Then, it was Vieira’s turn, as in the 83rd minute, the Arsenal loanee saw red, collecting a second booking for informing the referee that Koln’s goalkeeper was time-wasting.
In his second Bundesliga match after returning from suspension, Vieira was sent off again, and it’s fair to say that his teammates are unhappy…but not with the player.
Speaking to the media post-match, as transcribed by BILD, Hamburg captain Yussuf Poulsen admitted he was ‘very emotional’.
“We get two unfortunate red cards. Especially with the second one, you have to be careful,” Poulsen said.
“We have a rule that you’re not allowed to speak to the referee to protect him. But when the referee exploits the rules… Fabio tells him that Schwabe is wasting time. I have to watch what I say because I get very emotional.
“The rule is there to protect the referee. It’s not like we’re not supposed to talk to the ref. The second yellow-red card shouldn’t have happened; you’re allowed to talk to the ref, you’re allowed to point out that Cologne are wasting time. That annoys me a bit.”
It doesn’t take an expert to sense the anger the Hamburg dressing room felt about the decision, with Vieira now set for even more time out of action.
What referee Daniel Schlager said about Fabio Vieira’s red card
Mikel Arteta has had to hold his tongue over red card decisions before, so the Arsenal manager will be sympathising with Vieira from afar.
The 25-year-old’s dismissal was controversial, so much so that after the game, Schlager actually explained why he sent the midfielder off.
Also transcribed by BILD, Schlager revealed what he told Vieira before showing a red card, adding some crucial context to the incident.
“I told him that I wouldn’t tolerate that kind of communication. I also spoke to the captain and, at halftime, to the HSV coach, pointing out his behaviour. But it didn’t stop after halftime.
“At some point, I reach my limit. He then demanded time-wasting from Schwabe. That was too much for me, so I showed him a second yellow card.”
It’s been a stop-start beginning to life in Germany for Vieira, who is contracted to a season-long loan with a £17m buy-option at Hamburg.
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