Speculation about injury treatment Schmeichel: real or fake?

INJURIES Several media speculate today whether Kasper Schmeichel feigned an injury to allow Brian Riemer to make tactical adjustments. Sunday against Gent, the goalkeeper sat down for a moment ten minutes before time, then received an injury treatment. Some think it was fake.


It started Sunday during Hein Vanhaezebrouck's post-match press conference. The Gent coach congratulated Jan Vertonghen "because he was the only one not to sit down" during the match. Was Vanhaezebrouck referring to Schmeichel by this?

According to the analysts of Extra Time, it would be a well-known trick: a goalie feigns an injury to break the opponent's rhythm or to allow the coach to call some players to him for guidelines. The latter also happened Sunday at the hands of Riemer. Het Nieuwsblad flew out that Schmeichel also took care of himself briefly against Club Brugge. 

In Het Laatste Nieuws's podcast Vier-Nul, Frank Boeckx, assistant coach at Anderlecht until March, revealed that Riemer ordered goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to fake an injury at one point against OH Leuven last season. "We were ahead 0-1, but OHL was pushing. So Riemer gave some tactical directives and we were able to break OHL's rhythm," Boeckx said.

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