The Belgian league clash between Genk and Union Saint-Gilloise ended in controversy when a second ball was thrown onto the pitch in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
The incident occurred as Genk was pushing for an equalizer, having just pulled a goal back to make it 1-2.
Ibrahim Fadili, the equipment manager for Saint-Gilloise, was identified as the person who threw the ball onto the pitch, disrupting Genk’s attack.
He was subsequently expelled from the game.
The win saw Saint-Gilloise move level with Genk in the standings, just two points behind leaders Club Brugge with six games remaining.
Genk manager Thorsten Fink expressed his outrage after the match, stating that the incident had left him angry.
“Fair play is important to me,” Fink said. “I’m furious about Union’s behavior. I’m a calm person, but every time we play this Union team, it takes me to a different level.”
Saint-Gilloise coach Sébastien Pocognoli attempted to smooth things over with Fink, explaining that the incident wasn’t intentional.
“We’ll be clear, it wasn’t nice. I spoke about it directly in the locker room,” Pocognoli said.
“It wasn’t planned. We’re a team that always has the right attitude, on the bench and off, all year round. I apologized to the referee right away.
But I don’t want it to overshadow our performance.”
The incident was widely shared on social media, with DAZN Belgique posting a clip on X, formerly Twitter, captioned, “As far as we know, football is still played with one ball.”