Nigerian goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye assaulted in Holland

Nigerian first choice goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, had a face-off with a pitch invader during a Dutch league game on Friday.

The Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper left the pitch during Sparta Rotterdam’s away game at Vitesse Arnhem and ran off a pitch invader during the Dutch Eredivisie match.

Following the violent behavior of Vitesse Arnhem’s fans, the center referee ended the match before the seven minutes injury time ended.

Eredivisie, the league’s governing body, said in a statement on Saturday the match was discontinued due to multiple crowd troubles, including the use of flares.

Okoye’s Sparta Rotterdam was leading 1-0 when tension boiled over, chiefly due to the superb performance from the goalkeeper.

READ ALSO: Okoye signs five-year Watford contract, to join team after 2021-22 season

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.

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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