A Swiss Super League game between Thun and Zürich on Sunday experienced an unusual pitch invasion when a wild animal ran onto the pitch and bit a player who tried to catch it.
The furry creature, a marten, dashed onto the field only a few minutes into the game and brought play to a stop.
Play briefly resumed when the animal ran into the stands, but the marten, a member of the weasel family, reappeared shortly after the referee allowed play to continue.
Players stood on and watched the striped, furry little critter before Zürich defender Loris Benito decided to take action.
The 21-year-old dived and grabbed the marten - only to be bitten on the finger as he tried to carry the cuddly invader off the field.
Eventually it would be Zürich goalkeeper David Da Costa who snared the intruder and got the animal off the field.
"In hindsight, I was probably a little foolish," Benito told Swiss television at halftime. "You don't know what sort of disease it might be carrying. It was painful."
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| Zürich player Loris Benito attempts to remove a marten which was running on the pitch Photo: Reuters |
The furry creature, a marten, dashed onto the field only a few minutes into the game and brought play to a stop.
Play briefly resumed when the animal ran into the stands, but the marten, a member of the weasel family, reappeared shortly after the referee allowed play to continue.
Players stood on and watched the striped, furry little critter before Zürich defender Loris Benito decided to take action.
The 21-year-old dived and grabbed the marten - only to be bitten on the finger as he tried to carry the cuddly invader off the field.
Eventually it would be Zürich goalkeeper David Da Costa who snared the intruder and got the animal off the field.
"In hindsight, I was probably a little foolish," Benito told Swiss television at halftime. "You don't know what sort of disease it might be carrying. It was painful."
