Nigeria’s Osayi-Samuel Freed, Teammates, Trabzonspor Punished Over Pitch Invasion

Super Eagles of Nigeria defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel, will not be punished for punching a pitch invader on March 17.

The actions of Osayi-Samuel “did not meet the threshold for a violation of disciplinary rules,” according to a statement from Turkish Football Federation (TFF) disciplinary committee.

Recall that Osayi-Samuel and two of his teammates at Fenerbahce were invited to face a disciplinary penal over their encounter with the pitch invaders that stormed the pitch after Fenerbahce’s away 3-2 win over Trabzonspor.

After the victory at Papara Park stadium on March 17, some Trabzonspor fans stormed the pitch and attacked Fenerbahce players as they were celebrating the win.

Osayi-Samuel punched one of the pitch invaders and landed on him because the invader was reportedly trying to attack him and his teammates with a knife.

TFF disciplinary committee deemed Osayi-Samuel’s action as self-defense, hence, he wasn’t punished after facing the disciplinary penal.

However, his other two teammates, Dutch defender Jayden Oosterwolde and goalkeeper Irfan Can Egribayat, were slammed with a game ban and fined over their role in the incident.

The TFF’s board decided to punish Oosterwolde because he kicked a pitch invader who wasn’t attempting to attack him.

Meanwhile, Trabzonspor will play six of their home games behind closed doors as punishment for the pitch invasion. The club will also pay two fines which amounts to 3.1 million Turkish lira over the incident.