1
May

Bayern protects pitch invader, Ribery gives him game-worn jersey

Franck Ribery may have found a new best friend.

When a Bayern Munich fan ran onto the field after watching his club clinch a spot in the Champions League final, he was immediately embraced by Ribery, and soon after, the entire team.

Bayern celebrated with the fan as they formed a circle around him, protecting him from the security guards while bouncing up and down with joy.

The guards eventually got a hold of the fan, and started to escort him off the field. But Ribery wasn’t done yet.

He whipped off his jersey, and jogged over to give it to him — and Ribery made sure the fan had his game-worn kit secured safely under his shirt, and not in the hands of the guards.

Perhaps Ribery will show up and bail him out of jail later?

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19
Apr

A full-scale brawl broke out at the end of the final Copa Libertadores group stage match between Gremio and Huachipato after Gremio manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo allegedly teased his counterpart Jorge Pellicier.

Following the spat, several Huachipato players attempted to chase down Luxemburgo, who then fell to the ground as chaos around him ensued. Players, coaches, ball boys, fans, you name it and they were involved before riot police eventually interfered.

So what did Luxemburgo say to spark such chaos? According to Reuters, Pellicier was quoted as saying: “He tried to make fun of us… That’s unsporting conduct. He said we should go on holiday, making a gesture with his hand.”

Luxemburgo kind of had a point, though it certainly was unsportsmanlike. With the two sides settling for a draw, Gremio advanced to the round of 16 while Huachipato missed out on goal difference.

PS: Anyone else find it hilarious that some of them seriously started to throw and kick soccer balls at the riot police? What’s that gonna accomplish?

7
Apr

Who knew that vuvuzelas can hurt more than just your ears?

A referee in South Africa was attacked this Saturday by a pitch invader wielding the colorful, plastic horn that plagued all of us during the 2010 World Cup. Why? The man was so upset over a red card given out during the game (between Kaiser Chiefs and Golden Arrows) that he felt the need to run onto the pitch and hit him with his vuvuzela. That’s reasonable.

Fortunately, the ref didn’t get seriously hurt, and the invader was taken down after getting in just one solid whack.

1
Apr

Bursaspor goalkeeper Harun Tekin must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something. Usually, when a fan runs onto the pitch, the invader is greeted by smiles and some head-shaking from the players (heck, Messi apparently even hugs them). But not Mr. Tekin, ohhh no!

Tekin, probably upset over his team’s impending 2-0 loss to Kasimpasa, didn’t even let the pitch invader get past his six yard box, pummeling the poor lad with a flurry of left and right hooks. Maybe Tekin should consider taking up boxing to let out his rage.

As Cristiano Ronaldo might say, “Calma! Calma!”

26
Mar

Too long have pitch invaders been coming on to the field to interrupt the game. Now, it seems, we have a potent weapon against such anti-social behavior! A new breed of super stewards ready to take on the invasion. This video shows a fan on the pitch in the Brazil vs Russia game. The unsuspecting fan is running around the pitch (obviously lapping up his moment), before the steward takes him down with a move more associated with WWE.

The steward’s 15 minutes of fame continued after the match, when fans were eager to get a photo with him!

Image via @Pagey13

18
Mar

Bees, chicken want in on the soccer pitch invader fun

More and more animals are displacing humans as pitch invaders these days, and it seems they’re also having much more success evading the stewards!

Last week, it was the wild marten that took a Swiss league match (and eventually all of us) by storm and even bit a player, and now we got the chickens of Blackburn and the bees of Brazil causing a stir.

First, watch as this chicken is unfazed by the Steward’s attempts at catching it, evading it time after time before hopping back over the advertising boards. To the disappointment of the crowd, that’s where the chick’s adventure abruptly ended.

Meanwhile in a Brazilian match over the weekend, fans had nothing to laugh at. A swarm of bees (cue Nic Cage) gathered on the crossbar during a game between Ponte Preta and Atletico Sorocab, causing mass hysteria and a 15-minute delay. Amazingly, the fire department had to be called to the rescue after burning the bees alive didn’t quite get the job done!

13
Jan

2 Great clips from the Hamburg-Austria Vienna friendly

For a friendly game, this one between Hamburger SV and Austria Vienna was quite entertaining! First, check out this awesome goal by Son Heung-Min who takes the ball up about 50 yards and finishes with a great strike in the top corner.



Later in the match, we were blessed with yet another pitch intruder! To the cheers of the crowd, this man excellently got past four stewards before finally being taken down. Particularly enjoyable in this video is the steward next to the goal, who for whatever reason can’t get off the ground and is practically crawling in pursuit!

7
Jan

And sometimes, the pitch invader gets away!

Check out how this fan leisurely jogged onto the pitch of a Coupe de France match between Chauray v Lorient, gave a few high fives, turned back and got away from the ONE steward who attempted to chase him down (with some big help from the advertising hoarding).

Top notch security out there, indeed.