Dino Besirovic Sent Off in AIK's Friendly Match

Scuffle in Friendly Match Between Sirius and AIK – Besirovic Sent Off

The incident occurred after AIK's Anton Salétros and Dino Besirovic collided with Sirius' Melker Heier, causing Heier to fall, become frustrated, and trip Salétros. Besirovic noticed and attacked Heier, leading to a brawl involving many players from both teams.

– "It almost turned into a full-blown fight," said commentator Niklas Jarelind.

The linesman intervened to calm the players. The referee then pulled the Bosnian midfielder aside and issued a direct red card. Footage suggests the referee reached for the card after Besirovic appeared to choke Heier.

Thus, Mikkjal Thomasson's team was one player short as they tried to regain control of the match, now led by Sirius. Isak Bjerkebo scored 1-0 in the fourteenth minute with a low shot into the bottom right corner.

Salétros' Anger: "We Can Go Home"

Anton Salétros was furious about the sending off:

– "I hope we can bring in another player, otherwise we can go home and do something else," he told Max at halftime.

After the match, he elaborated.

– "Red card, probably. But in a match like this, just give both a yellow card and we're done," he told Expressen.

Playing ten against eleven in a friendly match. Does it feel a bit wasted?

– "Yes, of course. You can be disappointed for a moment. But it can happen in real matches too. But it's a friendly match, I think both teams would rather have played eleven against eleven."

Johan Hove, who scored AIK's only goal in the match, found it strange.

– "But you always get something out of it. You get to run a bit more. We have to see it that way. It will probably happen during the season, that we have to play ten against eleven, but it's strange to do it in a friendly match," said the Norwegian.

Explanation: "Take It Up with the Referee"

However, the midfielder's wish never came true, and only ten players started the second half for AIK.

After the match, Sirius coach Andreas Engelmark explained why the opponents were not allowed to add an eleventh player.

– "It's simply because you're not allowed to. I said it would have been okay to play eleven against eleven, but apparently, the rules state that in the case of a serious sending off, it's ten against eleven. So you have to take it up with the referee. We would have preferred to play eleven against eleven, of course. It would have been better for us too," he said.

The match ended 2–1 to Sirius.