There are moments when football stops being merely a game. For Mats Seuntjens, his return to the grass at Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda was shaded by an unfathomable loss: just a few days earlier his newborn daughter had died, Celine Inaya.
The NAC Breda footballer chose to return to play in an environment of immense personal pain. Opposite him stood VVV-Venlo, but that night the rivalry was completely relegated to the background.
At the end of the match, the stadium transformed into a massive gesture of support for Seuntjens and his partner, Elba.
More than 18,000 fans stood up for him
When the game ended, the more than 18,000 spectators present rose to their feet. NAC Breda supporters joined the VVV-Venlo followers to accompany the footballer and his partner.
From the stands appeared a banner with a phrase that summed up the feeling of the night: “The sky has one more little star.”
Then thousands of lights and flares lit up the stadium while the fans chanted Seuntjens’s name.
The footballer and Elba remained at the center of the field, embracing and surrounded by their teammates and the coaching staff.
It was a moment when football was completely displaced by empathy and shared grief.
A tribute that transcended the rivalry
The gesture carried even more meaning because fans of VVV-Venlo, the rival team, also took part. For several minutes, the two supporter groups set aside the competition to accompany a family going through one of the hardest moments of their lives.
NAC Breda itself shared the images of the tribute with a line that summed up what had happened: “Much more than football…”
The scene of Seuntjens and Elba embraced in the middle of the field, in front of a stadium lit by thousands of lights, became the most moving image of the day.
The Little Celine Inaya
The daughter of Mats Seuntjens and Elba died shortly after birth. Her name, Celine Inaya Seuntjens Silva, was mentioned by the club when announcing the tribute.
The institution publicly expressed its sorrow for the loss and highlighted the support from the entire NAC Breda community for the family.
In the stands, the phrase “The sky has one more little star” served as a symbolic way to remember the little girl and, at the same time, to assure her parents that they were not alone in that moment.
The result was put in the background
The encounter ended with a VVV-Venlo victory by 2-0, with goals from Edhy Zuliani and another in the second half.
Yet the scoreline proved to be little more than a detail compared to what happened after the match.
For Seuntjens, that night meant much more than returning to play: it was returning to a place that is part of his life while he faced personal grief, surrounded by thousands of people.
And the tribute he received left one of those images that remind us that, even in the middle of a competition, there are moments when everyone can be on the same side.
