UEFA has charged Shakhtar Donetsk striker Luiz Adriano with unfair play following his controversial goal against Nordsjaelland in the Champions League on Tuesday. Adriano scored ahat trick on the night, but his first goal came as Willian attempted to return the ball to Nordsjaelland from an uncontested drop ball. UEFA will hear Adriano’s case Nov. 27.
Play had been stopped while one of the home team’s players received treatment. Instead of allowing Willian’s pass to go back to the opposition keeper, Adriano ran onto it and scored theopening goal. There was confusion afterward, as Shakhtar initially stood off allowing Nordsjaelland to dribble toward goal before making a tackle and playing on.
After the match, Shakhtarcoach Mircea Lucescu apologized for the confusion. “We wanted to let them score, there was big confusion in the team. They deserved to score, it’s a pity that this happened. I’msorry.”
Nordsjaelland coach Kasper Hjulmand was not impressed. “I don’t know if Shakhtar are bandits, but some of their players, bosses and coaches are withoutmorals,” he said. “In my world it’s unsportsmanlike conduct and a red card for Luiz Adriano would have been quite appropriate. [If my team did that] I would have called the team to the side andtold them to give away a goal. I would have done that, 100%.”