© AP
© EPA-EFE
© EPA-EFE
From a sporting point of view, PSV can leave the Europa League tournament on a positive note. It could not make up for the 3-0 defeat against Sevilla at home, but it did win 2-0. Nevertheless, attention turned to other incidents in the final phase.
The Telegraph
Things went wrong in the Philips Stadium in injury time, when a supporter entered the field and attacked Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic. The goalie defended himself well, after which the aggressive field stormer was grabbed by stewards and removed from the field. The incident could well get an annoying tail for PSV, which already has a hefty bill for this season at UEFA, which is known for harsh penalties for misbehavior of supporters.
Dmitrovic, who had to replace the sick Yassine Bounou shortly before the start of the game, was not injured in the attack and did not require treatment.
The general manager reacted afterwards, “The man was immediately taken to the police station. This is terrible. I find this much worse than the shutdown. Entering the field and then also attacking another player. Can’t get worse. As a general manager, this is the worst thing that can happen to you. This really shouldn’t happen. We will certainly evaluate this with the stewards. If it’s up to me, he will get a lifelong stadium ban anyway.”
Trainer Ruud van Nistelrooy condemned the action. “I haven’t seen it yet. We all approve of this. It is unthinkable that as a supporter you attack a player. It is regrettable that we have to talk about this.”
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Disturbing
Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli spoke of shame about the action. “It is very unfortunate that this has happened. I find it disturbing, things like this have to stop. We must all take care of that. This should not happen again in the future.”
Sevilla was 1-0 behind when the fan entered the field. It then also became 2-0, but Sevilla qualified for the eighth finals of the Europa League thanks to a 3-0 home win. “For a long time there was not much going on for us,” said Sampaoli. “I am satisfied with the game. The final phase was still spectacular. A lot was thrown on the field and the referee allowed too much in my opinion. He should have acted stricter and intervened sooner.”
Ajax-AZ
The incident was reminiscent of the attack by an Ajax hooligan on AZ goalkeeper Esteban Alvarez during the Ajax-AZ cup match in 2011.
PSV has previously had problems with supporters entering the field. In the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 2001, a large group of angry fans broke through the fence. Trainer Eric Gerets and player Theo Lucius helped to get the supporters back in the stands. Nevertheless, UEFA handed out a heavy punishment. PSV had to play the next European home game at a hundred kilometers from Eindhoven and played the home game against Galatasaray in the Gelredome in Arnhem.
