In a bizarre incident, German umpire Ben Goentgen was hit on the face off a penalty corner strike in the FIH Men's World Cup quarterfinal match between Netherlands and South Korea here on Wednesday. Goentgen was immediately taken off the field for medical attention.
Ben Goentgen
When did the incident happen?
The incident happened in the 28th minute when South Korean Jang Jonghyun's stinging drag flick got deflected from a Netherlands player's stick and struck the face of Goentgen, who was standing a few meters away from the goal post.
Goentgen fell down in pain while his co-umpire Gareth Greenfield of New Zealand and medical staff of the tournament organisers rushed to help him. The injured umpire held his face with one hand and rushed out of the field along with the medical staff. He was later replaced by the reserve umpire of the match, Raghu Prasad of India.
Germany edged out England in penalty shootout under dramatic circumstances after trailing 0-2 two minutes before regulation time to book a berth in the FIH Men's World Cup semifinals where Netherlands joined them with a win over South Korea here on Wednesday.
German’s top England
Germany struck in the 58th and 59th minutes through captain Mats Grambusch and his younger brother Tom to take the quarterfinal match to the penalty shootout where they prevailed over a heart-broken England team 4-3, snatching win from the jaws of defeat.
Germany, who had finished second in Pool B and defeated France 5-1 in the crossover match, face three-time champions and last edition bronze medallists Australia in the semifinals on Friday.
In the second quarterfinal match of the day at the Kalinga Stadium, last two editions runners-up Netherlands ended gritty South Korea's more-than-expected run in the tournament with a 5-1 win to set up a last-four clash with Belgium on Friday.
