On the night the Super Eagles’ provisional list for the two-match World Cup play-off with Ghana was released, first choice goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye was hit on his head by missile thrown by a fan during a Dutch league match involving his club, Sparta Rotterdam and Vitesse.
Trouble began when Okoye’s club Sparta took the lead after five minute. Then in the 63rd minute, Okoye saved a penalty kick which angered a Vitesse fan who sneaked into the pitch to attack Okoye.
Okoye was able to outmuscle the fan that was whisked away by the security. By the time the Nigerian first choice goalkeeper got back to his goal line, he was hit on his face by a bottle thrown from the stands.
At this point, the match was abandoned. The KNVB, football governing body in The Netherlands, is investigating the incident through its disciplinary committee.
“The investigation will focus on the question of guilt for the incident,” the KNVB said.
The disciplinary committee will decide what to do with the remainder of the match.
The board has three options here. The intermediate score (0-1) becomes the final score, the match must be continued from the moment of abandonment or the match must be replayed in its entirety.
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