PSV Eindhoven fails in the Europa League playoffs and a Dutch fan’s fuse blows. In added time of the second leg, he runs onto the field and attacks the goalkeeper of opponent FC Sevilla. However, he stays cool and skillfully fends off the attack.
The Europa League game between PSV Eindhoven and FC Sevilla has been overshadowed by a fan attack. In injury time of the second leg of the playoffs, a man stormed onto the pitch and attacked the goalkeeper of the Spaniards, Marko Dmitrovic, hitting him in the face with his fist. The goalkeeper defends himself and wrestles the attacker to the ground, but the attacker still kicks while lying on the ground. Teammates help Dmitrovic, security personnel rushes over and leads the man away.
“A fan pushed me from behind,” said the 31-year-old Serb after the game. “I suppose he was upset with his team’s result. I suppose he was a little crazy or drunk too.” The Spaniards had won the first leg 3-0, in the second leg it was 1-0 to the Dutch at the time of the attack. Dmitrovic was able to continue playing and conceded another goal to make it 0:2. Seville still reached the round of 16 of the second most important European competition through the sum of the results.
“He tried to hit me but I was able to hold him and wait for security to arrive,” continued the keeper. “It’s never nice to see something like that in football, it shouldn’t happen and I hope something like that gets punished.” According to his own statements, the keeper felt the urge to hit the fan back, but held back. “The truth is, I wanted to hit him. I’ve never hit him in my life, but I know how to defend myself.”
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli called the scene a “disturbing incident” that should not be repeated. And his counterpart at PSV was also shaken. Former world-class striker Ruud van Nistelrooy said: “We all reject that. It’s unimaginable that you, as a fan, would attack a player. It’s sad that we have to talk about it.” According to Eindhoven’s managing director Marcel Brands, the spectator was taken to a police station. “As a manager, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you. This shouldn’t happen. We’ll work this out with the stewards. If it’s up to me, he’ll be banned from the stadium for life.” PSV face a penalty from UEFA over the incident.
