Dutch Footballer Announces Relationship with Match Official, Four Months After Meeting on The Pitch

• Emmen defender only met fourth official Shona Shukrula four months ago in sour circumstances
• The defender was sent off in August during the match against FC Eindhoven in a match where Shona Shukrula was an official
• Four months on and the pair are an item, and have been spotted in Rome together

When it comes to incredible love stories, nothing comes close to that of FC Emmen defender Jeff Hardeveld.

Hardeveld recently took to his social media with a delightful slice of news - that he was in a relationship with fourth official Shona Shukrula, whom he only met four months ago.

The meeting between the pair was also not in the most pleasant settings as they met in the Dutch second tier, popularly known as Eerste Divisie.

At the time, Hardeveld’s FC Emmen was high flying in the league and came up against FC Eindhoven on August 13 2021.

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Shukrula had been refereeing in the Dutch second division since 2009/10 and was among the match officials for the game that saw Hardeveld sent off in the 91st minute.

Emmen went on to suffer a surprise 1-0 defeat to FC Eindhoven, but there was a silver lining in the game for the defender, who started a courtship with Shukrula.

According to Dutch publication Telegraaf, the pair met after the game and it was there that a romance started to brew.

Four months after their first meeting and the pair have announced that they are in a relationship via Instagram, where Hardeveld shared some delightful photos of the two during their trip to Rome.

It is kind to note that Shukrula.is one of the highly-rated referees in the Dutch league.

Not only has she received international appointments in the Champions League, she has also been on duty in the European Championship and World Cup qualifiers.

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