The Sevilla goalkeeper knocked the audience down on the field
In the 90th minute, when host PSV Eindhoven needed to score two more goals to avoid disqualification, a Dutch male spectator took to the field and ran towards Dmitrovic from behind. At that time, the Serbian goalkeeper did not notice, because he was busy watching the ball rolling in the home field. This spectator grabbed his shirt and punched the away goalkeeper in the face. Dmitrovic punched back, then knocked over the fan, pinning him down until security staff approached. Even when the PSV player came and pulled Dmitrovic away, he did not let go of the audience.
Only when security approached, the 1.94 meter tall goalkeeper let go. The overzealous spectators were taken out, and the game resumed after a few minutes. PSV scored one more goal to win 2-0 in the second leg, but lost the final 2-3 and looked at Sevilla in the 1/8 round of the Europa League.
"He pushed me from behind, touched my face and was about to punch me," Dmitrovic said after the match. "I thought maybe he punched me in the nose. Then I really wanted to punch this guy back. I won't say what I want to do with him. But the situation is really ugly. If you want to fight, go to another sport like boxing."
Dmitrovic is only Sevilla's number two goalkeeper, but he started this match because Yassine Bounou had a stomachache before the match. The 31-year-old goalkeeper conceded two goals, from goals from Luuk de Jong and Fabio Silva. He believes that fans are too aggressive and should be punished appropriately. "Football doesn't deserve such ingredients, but everywhere there are crazy drunk spectators, looking to attack others," he added. "I never hit anyone, but I know how to protect myself."
The report on the UEFA homepage does not mention this situation. When contacted by Opta, UEFA also said it would wait for the referee's match report before acting.
Dmitrovic grew up in the Red Star Belgrade academy, having played in Hungary and England, before moving to Spain. He was Eibar's number one goalkeeper in La Liga in 2017-2021, then went to Sevilla as a substitute.
