Despite a super win over FC Schalke 04, Borussia Mönchengladbach have been left licking their wounds after a bruising encounter.
With the game running down in the 80th minute, Schalke's Johannes Geis kicked Gladbach's André Hahn and connected with his leg. As Borussia have already made clear, the winger will be out for the rest of the first half of the season and will need some time to come back from what is a serious injury.
The 25-year-old was carried from the pitch and coach Andreas Schubert brought Thorgan Hazard into the match for the last minutes.
Without hesitation, Referee Wolfgang Stark showed the defensive midfielder the red card and sent him off. After a few seconds protest of Geis, he went to the stands and watched the last minutes from the interior of Borussia-Park.
Deutscher-Fußball-Bund will now decide for how long Geis will be banned after this foul. A realistic decision seems to be a four- to six-match ban.
Geis apologises for horror foul
Johannes Geis later posted a statement on his official Facebook page.
At first, he initially seems shocked and found difficulty putting into words what had transpired during the game.
He apologises to André Hahn, his family, to the club and to all fans. Geis emphasises once again that he didn't really see his opponent and assessed Hahn's movement poorly.
Furthermore, he clarifies that he is a fair sportsman and would never wish injury on any fellow professional, something which is important for himself.
After he watched his foul on Hahn he had to think about his ex-teammate Elkin Soto, who was injured after a collision with former Real Madrid man Rafael van Vaart last season against Hamburger SV.
Geis does not accept personal abuse
At the end of the statement, the Schalke midfielder accepts that many people are in shock and will want to let out their emotions, but goes on to criticise those fans who go so far as to attack the 22-year-old Germany prospect personally.
Overall, however, Geis' message was one of contrition and wishing his opponent Hahn a speedy recovery.