Nasty foul and headbutt: When Mats Hummels is on the ground, everyone blows a fuse

Rome (Italy) - Since his departure from Borussia Dortmund , Mats Hummels (36) has constantly been in the spotlight. After months on the bench, he was finally allowed to play for AS Roma and indirectly caused a violent row on Sunday evening.

Valentin Castellanos (26, l.) pretends to be innocent, but had previously rammed his studs into the thigh of Mats Hummels (36, r.), who was lying on the ground, and headbutted him.
Valentin Castellanos (26, l.) pretends to be innocent, but had previously rammed his studs into the thigh of Mats Hummels (36, r.), who was lying on the ground, and headbutted him.  © IMAGO / Action Plus

His club was already leading 2-0 in the heated city derby against Lazio, and injury time was running out when a nasty incident led to an escalation.

Valentin Castellanos (26) received a pass from his teammate in the 93rd minute and took the ball when Hummels fell over him. Lying on the ground, the Argentinian rammed his studs into Hummels' thigh with full force.

The German then got up and grabbed his opponent by the collar, pushing him in front of him.

Castellanos then got carried away and headbutted the German center-back, who fell to the ground and put his hands to his face. Within seconds, a violent scuffle broke out.

Not only the players on the pitch, but also the players on the benches rushed to the scene of the incident. Referee Luca Pairetto (40) had his hands full trying to get an overview and calm things down.

Mats Hummels gets no caution, Valentin Castellanos sees straight red

The scene between the two led to a violent scuffle.
The scene between the two led to a violent scuffle.  © IMAGO / Action Plus

While Hummels did not receive a caution, the referee showed Castellanos a straight red. The Roman Evan Ndicka (25) was also shown a yellow card for going to ground.

When calm finally returned, Hummels and his team-mates celebrated the hugely important three-pointer. The victory in the city derby was not only prestigious, but also not necessarily to be expected, as Lazio had a 15-point lead over AS before the game.

However, since Claudio Ranieri (73) took over on the touchline, things have been going better for the team and Hummels in particular.

Shortly before the match, the German praised the coach: "He has a natural charisma, he knows something about players, he doesn't need to be loud for the players to listen to him," the 36-year-old toldIl Messagero.

With 23 points, his club is still twelve points behind city rivals Lazio in fourth place. However, the form curve is clearly pointing upwards. Under a competent Ranieri and with a strong Mats Hummels, there should be a lot more to come by the end of the season.