Galatasaray are threatening UEFA with legal action after Noa Lang suffered a gruesome thumb injury during the Champions League clash with Liverpoolon Wednesday night.
The two sides were battling in the second leg of their Last 16 tie, with the Reds claiming a thumping 4-0 win to progress to the quarter-finals thanks to goals from Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, Hugo Ekitike, and Mohamed Salah.
But the game was somewhat marred late on in the second half when the Netherlands international got his finger caught between the advertising boards on the byline, with his thumb almost severed as a result, leading to him being stretchered off the pitch while receiving oxygen.
Galatasaray Threaten Legal Action Against UEFA
Galatasaray’s Noa Lang
Lang was forced to have surgery on his thumb after being rushed to hospital following the game, and now it has emerged that the Turkish champions are pushing to receive compensation after the 26-year-old suffered a serious injury.
Galatasaray general secretary Eray Yazga spoke to HTSpor, via the Daily Mail, revealing that they will demand UEFA cover the player’s salary while he is sidelined.
“We made a complaint to UEFA representatives after the match. They also made their investigations. UEFA will evaluate the issue.
“We are in talks with lawyers. We will file a lawsuit for compensation to UEFA. We will ask for our victimization in terms of salary to be eliminated.”
Lang has since posted an image of himself in hospital, where he simply stated that ‘s*** happens’, and thanked fans for their support and well wishes.
It’s unclear how much time the winger will miss as a result of the injury, but Liverpool staff were seen inspecting the area where the injury took place, although it currently seems as though it was just an unfortunate accident rather than anything dangerous being somewhere it shouldn’t have been. One Turkish reported posted a video with a theory of what may have caused it.
Reaction to Lang Injury Shows Severity
Noa Lang stretchered off at Anfield
Following the game, Galatasaray revealed in a statement that the player had picked up a severe injury that would likely require surgery.
Liverpool defender Jeremie Frimpong, who is an international teammate of the winger, revealed after the game that he went to speak to Lang and had been told of some details about the injury.
“When I went to check on Noa Lang, a few people told me that half of his finger had been torn off. He was in a lot of pain.’
Liverpool claimed victory on the night to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals, where they will now face off against reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain over two legs.