The Copa del Rey clash between Sevilla and Real Betis came to an untimely conclusion after a pole thrown from the stands hit Sevilla midfielder Joan Jordan on the head. The game was paused and after much deliberation, ended up getting suspended.
They say there’s never a boring day as far as football is concerned in Spain. However, things went a notch ahead and became quite dramatic when a projectile impacted Sevilla’ Jordan while Real Betis celebrated Nabil Fekir’s 39th-minute equaliser at the Benito Villamarin Stadium.
The Spaniard fell to the ground immediately holding his hand. With the atmosphere around the stadium becoming increasingly violent under the commotion, the player was back on his feet quickly and was helped off the pitch, with the rest of the players following suit. Referee Ricardo de Brugos suspended the game temporarily given that the conditions were not suitable for the players.
In his referee report, he had mentioned that the object hurled at Joan Jordan was a hollow 50-centimetre PVC bar.
It was thrown from the zone of the stadium containing passionate Betis fans. After a wait of 20 minutes, the game was officially suspended by the Spanish federation, who mentioned that it “condemns all acts of violence on the playing field.”
The Seville derby is quite noted for its notoriety, and things often get out of hand. In 2007, Sevilla head coach Juande Ramos was knocked unconscious after he was hit in the head by a bottle thrown from the stands.
Fekir had set the tone for another heated contest seconds after kick-off when he stomped on the foot of Papu Gomez, which ended in him seeing a booking. Although Betis dominated proceedings early on, it was Sevilla who took the lead through Gomez in the 35th minute.
The former Lyon midfielder responded with an incredible Olympic goal directly from the corner kick. However, unpleasant, violent and dangerous behaviour from the Betis fans during the goal celebration ended up taking its toll on the game.
The tie will now restart from the 39th minute on Sunday with the score level at 1-1. For obvious reasons, the game will now be played behind closed doors at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Jordan will not take part in the remainder of the match with Sevilla confirming that doctors diagnosed him with ‘traumatic brain injury.’ The player will be at home under observation for the next 24 hours.
