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| 출처=ESPN |
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'He scored the final goal, he took it off, he was sent off.'
This is the title of an article by the British daily The Times that reviewed the third round of the English EFL Cup (League Cup) in the 2025-2026 season between Liverpool and Southampton (second division) in Anfield, Liverpool, England, on the 24th (Korea time). It highlighted Hugo Ekittike's absurd behavior rather than the contents of the game. The U.S. sports media 'Sports Illustrated' wrote 'The most useless soccer game you've ever seen' and British sports broadcaster 'Sky Sports' introduced the reaction of former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood watching Ekittike's exit during the commentary.
What has Ekitike done that the media is rushing to report. The situation occurred in the 41st minute of the second half when Liverpool led 2-1. Liverpool led 1-0 in the first half with Alexander Isaac's first goal in the 43rd minute. It was a successful first half for Liverpool, which turned its rotation by using a large number of backup resources such as Endo Wataru, Trayoni, Federico Chiesa and Rio Ngumoja. Shea Charles scored an equalizer in the 31st minute of the second half, but Ekitike, who replaced Isaac at half-time, exploded the go-ahead goal again in the 40th minute of the second half. Chiesa calmly pushed in a perfectly conceded cross from the left side of the box. As if Ekitike became the hero of the game, he took off his top uniform at the moment because of his excitement. This is to hold a ceremony to show home fans the back of the uniform with his back number 22 and name written on it.
The act of taking off the uniform of scoring a goal in a soccer game is immediately warned for no reason. Ekitike, who wore a Liverpool uniform for 79 million pounds (about 147 billion won) from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, could not have been unaware of these regulations. However, Ekitike seems to have momentarily forgotten that he was warned once eight minutes after he was put in. Liverpool full-back Jeremy Frimpong looked at his teammate Ekittike, who was taking off his uniform, with an absurd look on his face. In the K-League, Mulic (then Seongnam) in 2021 and Kim Dae-won (Gangwon) this year were sent off for scoring goals and taking off their uniforms during the game, which became an issue.
Liverpool, which fought with 10 players in the last four minutes, secured a 2-1 victory without additional goals. It's a waste because the result was good, and if the reversal had been allowed, Ekitike would have become 'reversal' and faced tremendous criticism.
Andy Robertson, wearing the captain's armband, said "It would be amazing if Ekittike did that again. It's really emotional to score a goal, and he must have forgotten (that he was warned). His first mistake is foolishness. It was really stupid. He will learn a lesson from this, and I am sure he will never do it again."
Isaac, who watched 'Equitike exit show' from the bench, said "Sometimes after scoring a goal, he experiences such a moment. Of course, it's unfortunate."
Liverpool manager Arne Slot said "It's not something that happens often. I don't think I need to warn the players not to do this again. It's unlikely that players who have already been warned score goals and take off their shirts. I'm really happy to score a goal, but let's never take off our uniforms. I didn't get any damage tonight, but because I get damage at the weekend..."
As slot manager said, Ekitike will miss the sixth round of the English Premier League (EPL) away match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in London on the 27th due to disciplinary action. Liverpool, which has won all five games in the league this season, must play without a major striker. Ekitike has been a great contributor to the team this season, scoring three goals (five games), one EFL Cup goal and four goals in total in the league. Ekitike wrote on his social media page, `I'm happy to help my team win again tonight. My emotions are high and I sincerely apologize to the Liverpool family. He put on a prayer emoticon to express his apology.
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| Mulich's memories in the K League. It was April 2021. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
