Watch ex-Newcastle player Jetro Willems punched by own Groningen fan, video goes viral

Watch ex-Newcastle player Jetro Willems punched by own Groningen fan, video goes viral

Former Newcastle player Jetro Willems was punched by one of his own fan of the club Groningen as an Eredivisie match erupted and was briefly suspended with the video now viral

Watch the viral video below.

The 28-year-old Willems, who spent the 2019–20 season on loan in the North East, watched his struggling Groningen team fall behind Heerenveen 2-0 at home on Sunday. The toxic environment reached a boiling point in the 80th minute when fans stormed the field to violently denounce the play of their side.

Ex-Newcastle United player Jetro Willems punched by own Groningen fan, video goes viral

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After the game was stopped, stewards made an effort to control the angry fans. One of the Groningen players who travelled over to try to calm down their crowd was Netherlands international Willems. However, a thug hit the former Magpies player in the face as he was attempting to calm things down. Thankfully, Willems didn’t seem to be gravely harmed and soon came back to negotiate with the supporters.

Elvis Manu, who had earlier been substituted, also rushed over to confront the Groningen supporters, one of whom threw a punch in their direction.

The fan has been detained.

The fan was arrested as a result of the event has since been confirmed. The players were then led down the tunnel by referee Serdar Gozubuyuk as worries that the match would be called off altogether intensified.

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Heerenveen secured a convincing victory, but the two sides ultimately returned to finish the game. When play eventually started, Sydney van Hooijdonk had scored twice in the first half to give Heerenveen a 0-2 victory.

Groningen is fighting for its survival.

The bottom two teams of the Dutch second division are immediately demoted, with the third-place team entering a play-off. Groningen has had four victories over 26 games and is currently last in the Eredivisie. Willems has only played four times for Groningen since joining the team in February. Since 2016, he has not worn a cap for his nation.

This season, FC Groningen is fighting for its survival, and there have been multiple incidences of fan unrest due to the club’s toxic environment. This comes after a difficult period for football fans in the Netherlands marked by an increase in crowd disorder and violence, which occasionally resulted in the exclusion of away fans from games.

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