Sevilla goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic was involved in a physical altercation with a fan during a recent Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven.
Dmitrovic was punched after the fan ran onto the field. He was not harmed in the incident and helped subdue the spectator. Players quickly intervened as the fan was led off the field.
The situation generated a lot of attention. Dmitrovic told reporters that UEFA must act to prevent future incidents from occurring during matches.
‘I never saw anything like it,’ Dmitrovic said via the Associated Press. ‘I’m not going to say what I really wanted to do [to the pitch invader]. I’m glad I was aware of where he was coming from and was able to stop him, otherwise other things could have happened. 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.’
PSV Eindhoven won 2-0 in stoppage time. They were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate after the second match in the series.
UEFA will look into the fan incident. PSV Eindhoven could face potential discipline for the fan’s actions during the match. Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli is in favor of a strong punishment after the incident put one of his players at risk.
‘It’s a disgrace that the game resumed,’ Sampaoli said. ‘These acts have to be strongly punished. Otherwise it will happen again and we will not know when it is time to stop when faced with these types of situations.’
