Westham and Crystal Palace shook hands to settle for a 1-1 draw in an up-and-down affair, but there was a sobering behind-the-scenes story behind the tie. Midfielder Gertsouma missed the match due to misfortune at home. The night before, his home was unfortunately burglarized, losing about £100,000 (about HK$980,000) in cash and valuables, and the most distressing thing is that his family members were present at the scene at the time of the incident, and suffered great shock.
According to British media reports, the burglary took place last Saturday (2), when Gertsuma and his family were spending a quiet weekend at home. However, when they were unsuspecting, the burglars snuck into their home unnoticed and ransacked it of cash, jewelry and other valuables. The incident left Getsuma and his family in a state of shock and they had to move out of the house. Getsumar was also absent from the upcoming league match on Sunday for personal reasons, which was explained by Westham officials.
