From a fan kissing Messi's feet to bees invading an Australia-India match, five pitch attacks that stole the limelight

A tiny football fan shot to fame recently, photo-bombing the Brazilian soccer squad on the field. Soccer legend Lionel Messi, meanwhile, had his feet kissed by a fan during a match. A look at other pitch attacks that stole the limelight.
Drone Strike
The Euro 2016 qualifying match between Serbia versus Albania at the Partizan Stadium in 2014 witnessed a pitch invasion by a remote-controlled quadcopter drone carrying an Albanian banner. A scuffle between players ensued after a Serbian defender pulled the fl ag down. Soon Serbian supporters stormed the field and attacked Albanian players and the game was finally abandoned. The incident made UEFA ban drones at all its venues.

Flare up
The not-so-intense French Open final between Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer in 2013 witnessed an unexpected disruption when a masked protester wielding a flare ran into the court. Though security staff quickly brought the children’s rights activist down, the trespasser visibly gave the Spanish champ a moment’s scare.

Bee sting


MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting lie down on the field to avoid bees during a test match. (Image: BCCL)

Back home, a swarm of bees made news in 2008 after invading the playing arena of Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi when Australia and India were sweating out during a Test match. The Australian batsmen together with the umpires and Indian fielders were under siege for several minutes. The insects were just another hurdle for the Australian team that was already on the back foot after India posted a massive first innings total of 613 runs.

Fan frenzy
The most nostalgic image of pitch invasion for any Indian is possibly the concluding moments of the 1983 World Cup Cricket semi-final and final in England, where India sailed through marvellous victories to win the tournament. While fans were seen invading the ground during and after successive victories, players made a dash for the pavilion after the match, grabbing a stump as a souvenir. Invading the pitch can now warrant a £1,000 fine in England and a lifetime ban from the ground.