Austria’s national team coach Rangnick has also dropped former Schalke player Burgstaller from his squad due to homophobic chants. The way back will be difficult.
Guido Burgstaller, a former FC Schalke 04 player, doesn’t exactly have the most impressive numbers in the Austrian national team jersey: In 26 appearances, the 1.87 meter tall center forward managed just two goals.
If things go badly for Burgstaller, he will not get another chance to take part in the European Championship in Germany (June 14 to July 14), let alone improve his career figures. Austria’s national team coach Ralf Rangnick has decided not to include Burgstaller, who is now at Rapid Vienna, and two of his club colleagues in the next international matches because they had started homophobic chants in the Vienna derby against Austria on February 25. Burgstaller is unlikely to be able to return with a simple apology.
The 65-year-old Ralf Rangnick emphasized that the suspension of Guido Burgstaller, Marco Grüll and Niklas Hedl would initially apply to the upcoming training course and the international matches in Slovakia (23 March) and against Turkey (26 March). However, the former Bundesliga coach, who also played for Schalke 04, set clear conditions for a possible return.
An apology as “lip service” is “no excuse. Everything else depends on the boys showing what they really think and where they stand in terms of attitude,” Rangnick emphasized. “You can say a lot, the decisive factor is what the behavior looks like. “
After the first victory over city rivals Austria since 2019, the Rapid players celebrated in front of the home supporters. Videos prove the intolerable misconduct: Managing director Steffen Hofmann had disparaged the guests via megaphone, Burgstaller and Co. had started homophobic chants. The association has already imposed drastic penalties for this: Burgstaller was suspended for six matches, three of them on probation, and the 34-year-old must also take part in a workshop against discrimination.
The Austrian Bundesliga has already announced that both Rapid and the players have “credibly explained” that they are “very sorry for the incidents”. Ralf Rangnick, however, is unlikely to be impressed by this. “Everything we stand for with the national team is diametrically opposed to the other end of the value scale,” he said. He expects Burgstaller, who scored 32 goals in 119 games for Schalke 04 across all competitions between 2017 and 2020, and the other players to “seriously address this issue and understand what it means for people when they are publicly insulted and discriminated against in such a way. That is something I will not tolerate in my team. “