Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović punched by pitch invader during Europa League match at PSV Eindhoven
By Homero De la Fuente, CNN
Sevilla’s 2-0 loss to PSV Eindhoven in Thursday’s Europa League match turned ugly when a pitch invader ran on the field and punched the Spanish club’s goalkeeper Marko Dmitrović at the Philips Stadium in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
Towards the end of the match, which resulted in PSV being eliminated from the tournament 3-2 on aggregate, the spectator can be seen on video walking up to Dmitrović before throwing a punch at his head.
The 6-foot-4-inch Serbian goalkeeper quickly pinned down the pitch invader before security personnel arrived and escorted the assailant off the field.
Dmitrović, who made the start in goal after starter Yassine Bounou was scratched late due to illness, stayed in the game after the incident.
“He pushed me from behind and then came and got in my face and tried to hit me,” Dmitrović said of the incident.
“He grazed the side of my nose a little and then honestly, I wanted to hit him back but it’s never pretty. If he really wants to fight let’s go to an event or a sport like boxing or anything. Here, in this sport, these things aren’t deserved but alas.
“There’s always fans who are drunk and crazy and an idiot who assaults. This shouldn’t happen and I hope they punish him and anyone else who assaults anyone on the pitch in the future.”
Six-time champion Sevilla cruised past PSV Eindhoven 3-0 in the first leg of the playoff, leaving the Dutch side with a tall task heading into Thursday night’s match.
In the second leg, Luuk de Jong netted a goal in the 77th minute for PSV Eindhoven.
After the Dmitrović incident, substitute Fabio Silva doubled PSV’s lead five minutes into stoppage time but it was too little, too late as the full-time whistle would be blown shortly after.
Despite the second-leg loss, Sevilla advances to the Round of 16.
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