Willems did not feel threatened, despite blow from ‘brainless imbecile’

“I’m fortunate from Rotterdam-Zuid, so I’ve experienced a bit. I didn’t feel threatened,” Jetro Willems revealed after the lost league game with sc Heerenveen (0-2).

Although the FC Groningen defender remained stoic, the blow he received in the closing stages from a fan of the home team was the absolute low point of the afternoon. Referee Serdar Gözübüyük then decided to temporarily stop the encounter.

Willems, who tried to calm things down in the corner of the stadium after disturbances, unintentionally became the talk of the day. Even though he has only been with the club for a short time.

FC Groningen-sc Heerenveen is stopped ten minutes before time after supporters of the home team misbehave:

“I took the initiative, someone has to do it. This is about one person and the club is going to do something with that. With the others I just talk. If necessary, we’ll meet on Monday.”

After the game, Willems once again made his way to the box with the FC Groningen hard core. “I had promised to come back for a while. We understood each other, spoke in a normal way. Except for that one moment, everything went well.”

General manager Wouter Gudde could not help but condemn the behavior of some fans, and in particular the man who dealt the blow to Willems.

“A brainless imbecile. We will sit down with Jetro on Monday morning regarding a possible report. I have a clear opinion on that myself.”

Not only the fan who delivered the blow, but also the supporter who had entered the field before it, was identified and later detained by police.

Gudde: “We were able to catch him adequately and he will receive the maximum punishment. What all happened is a travesty. Dramatic.”