A top striker for Chelsea Women knocked a man to the ground after he ran onto the pitch in search of a selfie during a Women’s Champions League match.
Australia captain Sam Kerr, a Ballon d’Or contender this year and the US National Women’s Soccer League all-time top scorer, was playing for the Blues against Juventus in the Women’s Champions League when a male fan left his seat and stormed the Kingsmeadow pitch.
Showing the kind of instinct that led her to becoming the only female footballer to win the Golden Boot in three different leagues on three different continents, the 28-year-old stopped the encroacher from further disrupting play.
The young man in question’s main aim seemed to be grabbing a selfie with Kerr’s teammate, Magdalena Eriksson.
Warning: video contains swearing
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"> <a href="https://t.co/wsmKCEVFEP">pic.twitter.com/wsmKCEVFEP</a></p>— Bradley Cox (@Bcoxy2012) <a href="https://twitter.com/Bcoxy2012/status/1468726641413210119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
Amid booing from the crowd, he remained on the turf far longer than neccessary, causing fans to grow restless in a farcical interlude.
Videos of the altercation show supporters jeering at the man and swearing at him.
Kerr quickly lifted their spirits by shoulder-checking him to the ground to widespread approval, which also earned her praise from manager Emma Hayes despite the recent FA Cup final scorer confusingly getting booked by the referee.
“He could have waited until the end to have a photograph if he really wanted one. But jokes aside, we do have to think about player safety,” said Hayes.