Pep Lijnders has announced that Stefan Bajcetic will face a fine for arriving late to Red Bull Salzburg’s pre-match training session. The Liverpool loanee, currently with the Austrian club, was delayed on Monday due to difficulties in finding his boots.
Lijnders stated during a press conference that the fine would be approximately €500 ($555) the day before the match, confirming that Bajcetic’s lateness would come at a cost.
According to Austrian outlet Salzburg 24, the incident was taken lightheartedly by his teammates, who expressed their gratitude to the 19-year-old for contributing to a team outing funded by the fine.
Despite this, Bajcetic was benched for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Brest, which ended in an unexpected 4-0 loss for Salzburg, with goals from Mahdi Camara, Mathias Pereira Lage, and a double from Abdallah Sima.
He did come on as a substitute in the 77th minute when the score was already 4-0, leaving it unclear whether his benching was a tactical choice or a consequence of his earlier mistake.
Bajcetic joined Salzburg on a season-long loan in August after an injury-riddled 18 months at Liverpool. He had been a key player for the Reds in the latter part of the 2022/23 season but managed only one start last term due to a significant calf injury.
His move allowed him to reunite with Lijnders, Vitor Matos, Andreas Kornmayer, and former academy teammate Bobby Clark, and he has been a regular feature in the squad this season despite interest from Barcelona.
