Sports
Scotland vs Hungary suspended with players in tears as ace treated behind screen
SCOTLAND’S defeat to Hungary was paused after Barnabas Varga suffered a serious injury.
The striker collided with Scottish No1 Angus Gunn, fracturing bones in his face in the process, and medics rushed onto the field to help him.
Sheets were brought out to cover Varga with several team-mates including Dominik Szoboszlai seen in tears.
Uefa showed a wide angle replay during their coverage of the 1-0 defeat but did not show any close-ups of the incident.
The BBC apologised for the clip being shown – they use the feed from the host nation.
Varga was carried off the field on a stretcher, which Szoboszlai helped carry onto the field, as both sets of fans applauded.
He was reportedly conscious and communicating with medical staff on his way to hospital.
And Gabby Logan confirmed after the game that Vargas was in a stable condition in a Stuttgart Hospital.
Hungary head coach Marco Rossi said in his post-match interview: “Barnabas Varga’s life is not in danger.
“He will undergo an operation after fracture in his face and he won’t be available for the rest of Euro 2024.”
Martin Adam came onto the field to replace Varga, 29, who plays for Ferencvaros in his homeland.
The game was paused for five minutes before resuming after a VAR check for a potential penalty was waved away.
Former Scotland international Pat Nevin insisted Gunn had every right to go for the ball.
He told BBC 5 Live: “We have seen it before if a keeper comes out and he doesn’t get the ball but takes a player it is a foul.
“I actually think Angus Gunn got some of the ball there.”
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Hungary scored via Kevin Csoboth in the 100th minute after a lightning counter to send Scotland tumbling out of the Euros.
They will now face an anxious wait to see if three points will be enough to see them go through as one of the best third-placed teams.
Scotland pushed hard towards the end and could have had the ball in the net via a goalmouth scramble before being caught late.
The Scots felt they should have been given a penalty for a foul on Stuart Armstong by Willi Orban and BBC pundit Alan Shearer agreed.
He said: “Clear penalty for me. Orban takes him out, his right knee onto his left calf, a clear, clear penalty.”
Asked about the incident, Gunn said: “That was a bit of a blur.
“I had to come and I thought I done well, it was a bit painful, hopefully, the guy is alright.”
He added: “It’s hard to speak to be honest. I thought everyone gave their best out there.
“The goal at the end was because we were going for it, but I think the effort we gave today showed the fans and the country what it means to us.
“They managed to counter at the end and it was a bit of a suckerpunch because I thought we defended very well for most of the game.”
Andrew Robertson was gutted after the game.
He told the BBC: “There’s nothing really to say to be honest, we gave it everything.
“Both teams had to win, we had a chance but that’s football, that’s how it goes.
“It’ll take a long time to get over this one, we had a lot of possession in the first half without doing anything with it but we were in control.
“We had to find that cutting edge and go for it a wee bit more.
“We did go for it but we got sucker-punched – a draw wasn’t going to be enough realistically.
“We have to get over this, it’s a tough one, it’s devastating, there’s no buttering it up.
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“It’s up to us to pick them up but that will only happen slowly but surely.
“What I will say is thank you to the country we felt everyone behind us, we knew the excitement back home, sorry for letting yous down.”
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