Turkish fan invades pitch to attack Italian player, leaves him with broken nose

A player of Italian football club Fiorentina was attacked on Thursday in Turkey by supporters of the home team Sivasspor who invaded the pitch during the game. Midfielder Alessandro Bianco was left with a broken nose after one of the assailants punched him in the face.

Two suspects were arrested on Friday, Turkish media said.

The Italian side traveled to Turkey with a 1-0 lead in their Europa Conference League last-16 second-leg game on Thursday.

A 4-1 victory comfortably saw Fiorentina through to the quarter final stage, but the match was marred by a pitch invasion from some Sivasspor fans.

After Gaetano Castrovilli scored his team's fourth goal in the 89th minute, two Sivasspor supporters entered the pitch. While circling the area where Fiorentina players were finishing up their goal celebration, one of the supporters approached Alessandro Bianco and punched him, leaving him bleeding from his nose and mouth.

Following the game, Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella told Sky Italia that Bianco had suffered a broken nose in the incident.

He said: "Bianco being punched is just shameful, he didn't even see the guy coming and now he has a broken nose. It seemed like a celebration, the crowd was pushing their team forward and this gesture ruins everything, despite it being a victory for us."

Sivasspor manager Riza Calimbay said:

"We deeply apologize. We apologize from all Italians. This was something that shouldn't have happened. It even cast a shadow over the game. I cannot apologize enough. I pray to God nothing of this sort ever happens again."