A clip of a female pitch invader being brutally tackled by security guards during a football game has divided opinion online.
The incident unfolded at a Major League Soccer match at Geodis Park over in Nashville, US, on Saturday, 21 May.
Nashville SC were playing against Atlanta United when a storm made its way to the stadium, leading to a three-hour long weather delay.
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One woman decided to invade the pitch to pass the time, running past security as the crowd cheered her on.
But just moments later a staff member ruthlessly tackled her to the ground. A spectator can be heard saying ‘damn’ before speculating whether she was knocked out from the throwdown.
The security guard and one of his colleagues swiftly collected the woman, who appeared to be disorientated from the fall, to escort her off the pitch.
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Since the clip was shared by FOX Sports football analyst Stu Holden on Twitter, it’s been viewed nearly 275,000 times.
As for the comments section, it appears to have divided opinion – while some people think the tackle was necessary, others questioned whether it was a bit brutal, especially considering none of the players were actually on the pitch at the time.
One person who falls into the former camp wrote, “Keep the reputation up. Everyone who does that gets drilled, no questions, no excuses.”
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Another remarked, “Every action has consequences. What do you want here? ‘Excuse me miss, while we don't know if you have a knife or a gun, or if you have bad intentions, would you please politely leave the field and return to your seat?’.”
“Can we stop making the perpetrators the victims?! They receive the consequences of their actions,” said a third.
As for those on the other side of the fence, one commenter wrote, “I know no one wants to encourage pitch invasions but this seems a bit unnecessary, they knock this woman out cold and for what?”
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“Seems like kind of an excessive takedown for someone (female) invading an empty pitch due to a rain delay. I would understand if it was during a game. But dang,” said a second.
A third chimed in, “They didn't have to knock the wind out of her, she was ready to get off the pitch at the end, could've just grabbed her then.”
Whatever your take on the matter, it seems likely that the woman won’t be invading a pitch again anytime soon.
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Daisy Phillipson