Loris Karius.
Whatever you thought of his mistakes or his apologies or whatever side of the argument you fell on about whether he was left to walk alone or not, it was hard not to feel a little sympathy for him.
A little.
We’ve all made mistakes and we’ve all wished the ground would open up and swallow us but Loris Karius? Well, to be frank, he ballsed up like no footballer has ever ballsed up before – on the biggest stage of club football.
There’s no real getting away from it and, as much as you can feel sorry for him as a man and a person, it’s also important to remember that he’s making a wealthy living for doing what he does as a professional.
Anyway, in all the madness from the fallout of the Champions League final, in all the transfer speculation that the Real Madrid players started themselves, presumably out of boredom of dominating Europe, the one thing that everyone agreed on is that Sergio Ramos is a bad enough egg.
Now, however, that badness is being used in some corners as an excuse for Loris Karius’ shortcomings in the decider in Kiev.
You might remember Ramos hitting the Liverpool ‘keeper with a sly dig across the face just after half time.
Anyone noticed THAT?! 49 th Minute: #Ramos hit #Karius against his head! 😳 #UCLfinal pic.twitter.com/f0SEgzdMkS
— Prometheus (@68Bor) May 26, 2018
Well, according to ESPN, Loris Karius was sent to a doctor with the Liverpool medical team concerned that the German had suffered a concussion.
And not just any doctor, only the leading authority in the treatment of NFL players with head trauma.
‘ESPN FC has now learned, however, that Liverpool’s medical team were concerned about the possibility of Karius suffering a concussion in the incident with Ramos early in the second half.’
Interesting.
There’s no doubting that the belt from Ramos could’ve hurt. There’s no denying that it might’ve gotten inside his head – mentally – and contributed to the meltdown.
Concussion can also be present without the common tell-tale signs.
But, after the game, Loris Karius had nothing to say on the matter. He didn’t say he was struggling or affected. He didn’t offer any excuses for his mistakes.
“I don’t feel anything right now. Today I lost my team the game,” he said.
“I feel sorry for everyone. I’m so sorry for everyone, for the team, for the whole club. The mistake cost us dearly.
“If I could go back in time I would.
“I just feel sorry for my team. I know I let them down today.
“For now, I’m just really sorry for everyone that those goals cost us the title basically.”
