Top-flight Swedish match abandoned after pitch invader attacks Ostersunds goalkeeper
Ostersunds were drawing 1-1 away at Jonkoping Sodra in the Allsvenskan match when the intruder broke onto the pitch and assaulted keeper Aly Keita
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Your support makes all the difference.A Swedish top-flight match was abandoned on Monday after a pitch invader attacked Ostersunds goalkeeper Aly Keita.
Ostersunds were drawing 1-1 away at Jonkoping Sodra in the Allsvenskan match when the intruder broke onto the pitch and assaulted Keita who subsequently fell to the ground.
After the man had been seized by security and removed, Keita received medical attention but was not deemed fit to play on.
He was subsequently led off the pitch to continue treatment.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, the 29-year-old keeper said: “I am shocked and angry. It is awful that something like this could happen.”
He told Aftonbladet: “I just saw that someone was behind me. I ran and then stopped because I thought he was gone. Then I was in shock and didn’t understand what had happened. I didn’t hear him say anything.
“It is sad that someone can do something like that and ruin an evening. It is a sad day for football. But football is bigger than these idiots.
“I was a bit dizzy but now I am fine. I am going with the rest of the team to the hotel and go to bed. The police asked if I wanted to go to hospital but I don’t like hospitals.”
Ostersunds coach Graham Potter, a former West Brom player, added: "Keita is shocked. He's not doing so well."
Police said a 17-year-old male had been arrested.
“He is under arrest, we have informed the prosecutor of the arrest and interviews will be conducted with him about the suspected breaches of the law," Jonkoping police commander Peter Nordengard remarked.
The police also said that the 17-year-old told them that he had left a bomb in his bag but that proved to be untrue.
This isn’t the first time a match in the Swedish Allsvenskan league has been abandoned this year. In April, Gothenburg’s match against Malmo was halted when a firework exploded close to a substitute who had been warming up on the side-line.
The Swedish Football Association said it would decide whether to record the game as a draw or to award a 3-0 victory to the away team on the basis that Jonkoping Sodra had failed in their security responsibilities.
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