Footballer loses seven teeth after brawl

A fight that broke out during a football match in the Netherlands took a serious turn. It is alleged that the opposing team's assistant coach struck a player during the game's halftime. As a result, the 25-year-old defender lost seven teeth and was rushed to the hospital.

The incident occurred on Saturday, September 12, during a match between IJsselmeervogels and GVVV in the Dutch city of Spakenburg.

During the match, GVVV scored from a penalty in the 28th minute to make it 0-1. They later scored another goal, extending their lead to 0-2. After that, the tension on the field escalated further.

The brawl was triggered by a tussle for the ball between two players in front of the hosts' bench. Both players fell to the ground and then pushed each other. After an IJsselmeervogels player's fingers came close to a GVVV player's face, the latter fell to the ground again.

The match commentator accused the player of faking a hit, while the referee did not intervene in the situation.

After the players headed toward the tunnel, a fight broke out there. GVVV assistant coach John van den Brom (John van Loen / John van Beukering) is suspected of striking IJsselmeervogels defender Kermo Dumay.

Reports say that as a result of the blow, the 25-year-old Dumay fell to the ground and broke seven teeth. Police intervened to restore order. The player was taken to the hospital and received five stitches, according to “Need To Know”.

IJsselmeervogels head coach Willem Leushuis likened the blow to a "street fight" and said the event was very frightening.

Following the incident, the GVVV club terminated its contracts with John van Beukering and his brother, head coach Dennis van Beukering.

John van Beukering told local media that 20 to 30 people were pushing each other during the brawl. According to him, he was also hit two or three times and did not see who hit him.

“You are left with two choices: to leave or to defend yourself. I also threw a punch,” he said.

Van Beukering stated that he didn't know for sure if he hit Dumay, and that it might have hit him in the mouth. He expressed hope that this could be clarified through video footage.

Dumay called the incident “unthinkable” and announced that he would file a police report. He stated that full recovery of his teeth could take up to a year.

GVVV club chairman Hans Schinkel emphasized that he does not consider the incident a simple brawl. In his opinion, this was a case of aggravated assault, and the club does not want to be associated with such violence.

GVVV competes in the Tweede Divisie, the highest national level of amateur football in the Netherlands.

Due to the brawl, the match remained unfinished. Now the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) will decide whether to resume the match later or take another decision.