Football / Stray dog invades pitch during football match in Turkey, video goes viral

A stray dog has been praised for its ball-handling skills after it ran on the pitch and disrupted a professional soccer match in Turkey.

With fans and security personnel looking on from the sidelines at the Istanbul stadium, the players and a referee in the First Division struggled to win the ball back from the dog.

A stray dog invades the pitch during a soccer match in Turkey and returns for a second appearance just as the game is about to be resumed https://t.co/V2KJ8Jwfor pic.twitter.com/e90B5xvvNo

— Reuters (@Reuters) February 17, 2020

They finally sent off the uninvited guest by throwing the ball off the field. However, the dog fetched it again and ran onto the pitch for an encore just as play resumed.

Zeki Yildirim, a midfielder for home side Fatih Karagumruk Spor, then carried the dog off the field.

However, the incident didn’t affect the home team’s performance as Fatih Karagumruk Spor won the game 2-1 against Giresunspor.