LIEGE, Belgium (AP) — A Belgian Pro League match between Standard de Liège and Royal Antwerp was stopped after the referee was struck by a cup thrown from the stands.
Standard led 1-0 in the 88th minute when referee Lothar D’hondt was hit by the cup on Friday and decided to send the players back to the locker rooms.
The league said in a statement on Saturday that the last three minutes of the game will be completed on Monday with no fans allowed.
Standard said it identified the man who threw the cup and it would start stadium ban proceedings against him, as well as an action for compensation. Under league rules, Standard will be fined 50,000 euros.
Since the 2023–24 season, any Belgian league match halted by referees should resume behind closed doors, starting from the minute of the stoppage and with the score as it stood. The rule was introduced to prevent spectators from influencing the outcome of games, the league said.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.