The referee stopped the third cup round match between Jalkaranta Ball Club and Kouvola Football Club when the player’s nephew decided to ride a bicycle through the field.
The Finnish Cup match between Jalkarannan Palloseura and Kouvola Football Club was interrupted due to an unexpected situation on Sunday in Lahti.
With 49 minutes on the clock, the match was in full swing when a young spectator on a scooter rushed onto the pitch from the home team’s corner flag.
The Football Association published a video of the event on Twitter on Monday.
– The player’s relative’s son was competing with his friend. They raced around the field. The junior was falling behind when he decided to straighten through the field. So it was all about the will to compete, he had no bad intentions in mind, says Okkonen.
The trespasser was quickly spotted in the stands. The goalkeeper of JaPS spotted the scooterist when he was entering the penalty area. The referee of the match stopped the game at this point and sent the crosser off the field.
– It was the most entertaining moments of an otherwise uneventful match, Okkonen describes.
Yle reached Drilon Shala of Jalkaranta Palloseura, who confirms the events.
– Surely there won’t be any fines for this? Shala is the first to ask in an interview with Yle.
Yle is not aware that any action will be taken against JaPS due to the incident.
Age group team through to the next round
The actual playing time of the match ended in a goalless draw. In the end, JaPS won the fight with penalty kicks 5–4 and advanced to the fourth round of the Finnish Cup.
Lahti’s JaPS plays in the over 35-year-old league of the Football Association. Knocking down KJP, who play in the third division, in the Finnish Cup and progressing to the fourth round is a significant achievement for the senior team.
In the next round, JaPS will face Lahti Reippa, who play in Kakkones.
– It’s already a tougher team. Let’s go make a cup surprise. We are a senior team and we don’t train, so knocking down two teams playing in Kolmose is a tough thing, says Shala.
*The story was updated at 15:50: The match between JaPS and KJP was the match of the third round of the Finnish Cup.*