The football match between Hoogeveen and Sparta Nijkerk was stopped on Saturday evening after Hoogeveen’s second goalkeeper, Bart de Weerd, was hit hard in the head. The 17-year-old keeper was between the posts from the twentieth minute onwards, because first keeper Stan Meekhof immediately received a red card for tackling a player who had broken through.
It could have been a great evening for 17-year-old De Weerd, in his debut for the Hoogeveen flagship. The Hoogeveen under 19 goalkeeper had already made a few nice saves in the 32 minutes that he was under the crossbar.
De Weerd seemed to grow into a constant obstacle. But a scrimmage soon after the break, right in front of his goal, with the subsequent incongruous save, turned everything upside down.
De Weerd (!), sitting on the ground, headed the ball out of the goal mouth after a bet. Left striker Omar El Ghazouni wanted to shoot the ball in for Sparta Nijkerk at that moment, but hit De Weerd on the right side of his head. Yellow for El Ghazouni, but the Hoogeveen keeper stayed down.
‘He’s doing quite well’
Caregivers took care of the unfortunate De Weerd a little later and stayed with him until the goalkeeper was able to lie down independently on the stretcher of the ambulance that had now arrived after twenty minutes. “He’s doing quite well. Bart was easily approachable, but he complained of a headache and tingling in his legs. So he definitely needs to go to the hospital,” said Claudia ten Zijthoff of the Hoogeveen medical staff.
Referee Steve Janssen decided to permanently stop the match half an hour later after consultation with the captains and trainers. “Hoogeveen felt emotionally unable to continue playing,” the referee reported. This angered the guests from Nijkerk, who wanted to finish the game.