The goalkeeper of the Belgian club “Ghent” Paul Nardi suffered an open fracture during the match against the Ukrainian “Zorya”. The press service of his team spoke about this on the social network X.
The clubs met in the fifth round of the Conference League group stage at the home stadium of Ghent on November 30.
The match was going well for the Belgians until, in the middle of the second half, 29-year-old Nardi received a serious injury: while kicking the ball away from the goal, he suddenly fell and began screaming in pain — while he had no contact with other players. The doctors who entered the field provided first aid to Paul, after which the player was taken to the tribune premises on a stretcher.
The team had to continue the game with Zorya without him. Instead of Nardi, Davi Ruf stood in goal. As a result, Gent won the match, defeating their opponents with a score of 4:1. The club took first place in Group B and secured early access to the playoffs of the tournament.
Footage has appeared online showing how the goalkeeper lies on the field after an injury, as well as how doctors carry him away.
Kenneth de Vlieger, a sports commentator from Belgium, wrote that Nardi was injured when he hit the ball. He also recalled that Paul had recently returned to duty after a long absence: he had been undergoing rehabilitation for several months due to a serious head injury.
The Ghent account in X published a post dedicated to Nardi. “Our thoughts are with Paul. The diagnosis is disappointing — he suffered an open fracture. Take heart, Paul“wrote club representatives.
The head coach of the team, Hein Vanhazebrouck, also spoke out about the incident. “It was, of course, shocking. He just returned from a head injury, and now this”- he said.
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Gent is in third place in the Belgian Championship standings. In the national league, Nardi played 10 matches this season, conceding 12 goals against Ghent. In the Conference League, Nardi has three matches and conceded four goals.
In October, we talked about another incident on the football field. In the match of the next round of the French Ligue 1, Clermont goalkeeper Maury Diot was injured after Montpellier fans threw a firecracker at him. It exploded right at the football player’s feet, after which he lost consciousness. Doctors took Dio off the field, and the referee decided to end the game early.