We’re going to go ahead and give Lars Stindl the benefit of the doubt here because there’s no way in hell he’s this heartless.
The Borussia Monchengladbach captain shattered a young kid’s heart into pieces with his pre-match handshake snub on Wednesday night.
As Stindl lined up to offer the olive branch to the match referee and his assistants prior to kick-off in their 2-1 victory over Hamburg, the young lad sheepishly stuck his hand out to get involved in the action.
Now we all know that it’s simply hilarious when most people are left hanging in the act of desperately pursuing a handshake but the rules are different for children.
They just are!
The highlight of #HSVBMG so far – that poor kid 😰
We'll give you a handshake at least! 🤝(🎥 via @MarinaFailing) pic.twitter.com/aGgoM41bsD
— Gladbach (@borussia_en) March 1, 2017
To make matters worse, the whole affront was captured by a GoPro perched gracelessly on the young fellow’s noggin and we doubt it was he who asked to wear such a ridiculous piece of headgear.
And while some felt that punitive measures were in order for the 28-year-old, Stindl offered an apology after the game by explaining that he didn’t intend to ignore the young fan.
https://twitter.com/eaamalyon/status/837250229237866496
Sorry!! Bin auch immer noch nervös vor so einem Spiel! 😬 https://t.co/5y8OZLnE0d
— Lars Stindl (@stindl28) March 1, 2017
Das war natürlich keine Absicht! @stindl28 möchte dir als kleinen Trost gerne sein Trikot schenken! #HSVBMG pic.twitter.com/Ama31MCl2Q
— Borussia (@borussia) March 1, 2017
Stindl blamed pre-match nerves for the snub but insisted that he hoped to repair the damage by giving his match jersey to the youngster.
Still, the poor lad’s little heartbroken face…