Soccer fan attacks goalie during match: ‘Never saw anything like it’

It was an attack worthy of a red card.

A Europa League game between Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV) and Sevilla briefly descended into chaos when a fan ran onto the field and punched Sevilla’s goalkeeper in the face.

The impromptu fight occurred late in the second-leg match of the Knockout Round playoff series at Philips Stadium in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

The unruly spectator, a short, young man wearing a black jacket and jeans, entered the field and ran straight for Marko Dmitrović, landing a left hook on the goalie’s right cheek.

“I never saw anything like it, I’m not going to say what I really wanted to do,” Dmitrović during an interview after the game obtained by ESPN. “I’m glad I was aware of where he was coming from and was able to stop him, otherwise other things could have happened.”

Dmitrović took his attacker to the ground, while players from both teams and stadium security rushed to the goalkeeper’s defense. The Dutch fans booed as the fan was carried off the field.

Dmitrović remained in the game but may have been uneased by the punch as the Serbian was given a yellow card and then let up a second goal in added time in the 2-0 loss.

“He wanted to hit me, it’s unfortunate that this kind of incident happened on a soccer pitch. UEFA should do something, this has to stop,” Dmitrović said, referring to the rise of unruly fans in soccer.

Dmitrović, a reserve on Serbia’s 2022 FIFA World Cup team, was not the original keeper for Thursday’s match but started the game after Yassine Bounou got sick.

Not only did PSV lose the two-leg series 3-2, but they will also likely face punishment from UEFA for the fan’s action, according to AP.

Last week a Colombian soccer star was attacked leading to a brawl on the field.

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Millonarios midfielder Daniel Catano was warming up prior to a match against his former team Deportes Tolima. As the home crowd was jeering at its former player, a fan ran up to Catano elbowing him in the back of the head.

The fan attempted to run away but Catano caught up and knocked the attacker down. Catano was handed a red card and Millonarios refused to play, leading to the game being postponed before it began.