During his club Gornik Zabrze’s match, 2014 World Cup winner Lukas Podolski got rough. And he showed no remorse afterwards.

Just a few weeks ago, he was celebrated in Cologne during his farewell match. Now, former national soccer player Lukas Podolski is being booed and jeered. In a local derby between his home club Gornik Zabrze and Piast Gliwice, the 2014 World Cup winner attracted attention with hard fouls and boorish behavior. Fans on social media called the 39-year-old Podolski a “pitch thug” and “bully.”

Podolski came on as a substitute in the 73rd minute of Sunday’s match, which Gornik Zabrze won 1-0. In the 87th minute, he slid in from behind and caught his opponent Damian Kadzior’s ankle. That alone would have been enough for at least a yellow card.

Podolski then went even further: he made the so-called Kozakiewicz gesture at his rival. He struck his right arm with his left hand and raised his right hand in a fist. In Poland, this means “You can kiss my ass.” However, referee Pawel Raczkowski saw no reason to punish Podolski or send him off.

Shortly after Podolski’s teammate Yosuke Furukawa scored to make it 1-0, the 130-time international showed his brutal side again. He took a run-up and brought down Piast Gliwice defender Jakub Czerwinski with a heavy tackle. This time, he was shown a yellow card.

Lukas Podolski: Violent push against opposing defender

“Poldi” is not really known for such scenes. The football daredevil scored goals with his left foot, played for 1. FC Köln, FC Bayern, FC Arsenal, and was part of the German World Cup-winning team in 2014. He has 130 international caps to his name. And now this: the sports portal “Przeglad Sportowy” said that the striker had earned himself the reputation of an ‘antihero’ in the local derby. Former Spanish professional Gerard Badia, who once played for Piast Gliwice, also criticized Podolski’s behavior. “You can’t become an idiot, you have to be born one,” he wrote on the X portal.

Podolski showed no remorse in his response. “Outbursts like that win trophies and get you into big clubs. Greetings, the idiot from Zabrze,” he wrote on X. Piast Gliwice responded by posting a photo of Damian Kadzior’s swollen foot. “If you call injuries to your opponents on the field trophies, then you can definitely add another one,” it said. (fs/dpa)