After a nice passing ball from Badamosi, Chevalier was able to score after eighteen minutes. The Frenchman from KVK let the nets vibrate with a delicious lob. It was pretty much all we got to see in the first half, but just after the halftime signal, an unseen scene happened. Portuguese teammates Xeka and Tiago Djalo fought each other. The referee intervened and gave both players a red card. The second half started with nine players from Lille. In order to have some battle, the Slovenian coach of KV Kortrijk, Luka Elsner, intervened and also took a player off the field. Badamosi was allowed to rest. In the second half, Lille was able to equalize via a cheap penalty, but that was only a footnote.
After the match, Xeka posted on Instagram to explain his futile action: “I made a comment to a colleague with whom I have never had any problems. He was offended, but I never called him names or disrespected him. When the whistle sounded at halftime, he charged at me and attacked me. I was just trying to defend myself. I apologize to the fans and the club for this situation. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not aggressive at all. I can have a strong personality, but I always have good intentions.”
The new French coach Jocelyn Gourvennec also reacted to the incident. “I don’t know what happened, I just know there was an altercation,” Gourvennec said after the game. “We will resolve it internally. It will be up to the board to decide whether these actions will be sanctioned.” It remains to be seen whether this frats will get a tail.
