PSV’s match against Sevilla was briefly halted in injury time on Thursday after a PSV fan entered the field and ran towards the Sevilla goalkeeper. He punched the goalie in the face. He was not seriously injured.
It concerned a supporter who, according to eyewitnesses, came running behind the goal from the hard core section, jumped over the boarding and sprinted towards keeper Marko Dmitrovic. He wanted to attack him in the back. Dmitrovic saw him approaching and managed to fend off the man, dressed in jeans and a black jacket with a hood, get to the ground and overpower him. The goalie immediately received help from some PSV players, followed by players from Sevilla. Alerted stewards escorted the man off the field.
The man is on screen and will probably receive a stadium ban. The incident was not shown on TV. In such incidents, the management deliberately does not show this, because it is prohibited by UEFA, the European football association. After a few minutes, the game resumed.
On the website from Sevilla, Dmitrovic says: “He pushed me from behind. He was probably angry about the result. He wanted to hit me. I managed to grab him until security got there. It’s never nice to see this in the football. I hope it will be penalized.”
Response PSV
General director Marcel Brands of PSV reacted with shock to the incident. “This is worse than the elimination. I just can’t believe that people like this are in the stadium with us. If it’s up to me, he will never enter a stadium again.”
“We don’t have fences here because this hasn’t happened before,” he continues. “This is one person in all these years. Our own supporters are also furious.” At PSV it is not yet known who the attacker is.
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli calls the incident “disturbing”. “It is very bad that this happened. This kind of thing must stop. We must all ensure that. In the future this must not happen again,” said the coach.
Punishment coming
PSV can receive a hefty penalty for the incident. The organizing club is responsible for safety. In the worst case, the football association can impose a fine and require the club to play one or more matches without an audience.
The situation is reminiscent of the cup match between Ajax and AZ in 2011, in which an Ajax fan ran onto the field and attacked AZ goalkeeper Esteban. He knocked the field attacker to the ground and gave him two striking kicks for which he received a red card. That card was later shelved. The Ajax fan turned out to be a well-known hooligan, who had a stadium ban but still entered the stadium due to inadequate checks. He was given a new 30-year stadium ban.