Maduka Okoye, Super Eagles goalkeeper, confronted a pitch invader on Friday night after he was hit by an object during a Dutch league game.
The incident took place during the match between Sparta Rotterdam, Okoye’s club, and Vitesse Arnhem.
Following the violent behaviour of Vitesse Arnhem’s fans, the centre referee ended the match before the seven minutes injury time was exhausted.
According to a statement issued by the Eredivisie, the league’s governing body, the match was discontinued due to multiple crowd troubles, including the use of flares.
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Okoye’s Sparta Rotterdam was leading 1-0 when tension boiled over, chiefly due to the superb performance from the goalkeeper.
The 22-year-old saved a penalty on 65 minutes and successfully stopped nine shots from finding their target.
Okoye’s eventful evening went from superb to worrisome when he was first hit by an object thrown from the crowd in the first minute of added time before being confronted by a pitch invader a minute later.
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wat een aansteller ook al die kiepert, terwijl het glas op z’n schouder komt. Tis natuurlijk asociaal maar man man man al dat theater tegenwoordig. #VITSPA pic.twitter.com/6DhTerZjK9
— Anita de Rooie Rakkert (@diejerooie) March 4, 2022
Okoye, held. #vitspa pic.twitter.com/a02lw1vpsw
Advertisement— Johan van Boven (@johanvanboven) March 4, 2022
The league body said an investigation will be initiated and a decision taken on the result of the match.
“The match between Vitesse and Sparta has been discontinued tonight (March 4, 2022) at a 0-1 score due to fireworks from the (home) public,” the league body said.
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“This was done after consultation of the referee with both clubs. The incident will now be investigated by the disciplinary committee.”
Okoye kept a third clean sheet of the season with the flawless performance, keeping his relegation-threatened club’s hopes of remaining in the Eredivisie alive.
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