Snake brings football match to a halt in Guatemala after invading pitch

Not your typical pitch invader

A first division match in Guatemala was halted as a snake somehow made its way onto the pitch, with players quick to move away from the reptile. In the 82nd minute of Nueva Concepcion's game against Municipal, the referee was forced to stop the action after seeing a snake, which was reported to have been 1.5 metres in length. With the score 1-0 to Nueva Concepcion, the game was very much in the balance. However, players from both sides were still keen to have a quick glance at the snake, before racing away as it made a sudden and sharp movement towards them. "What is on the field is a snake, Guatemalan football has it all!" a commentator remarked as the action unfolded in front of him. A groundsman entered the pitch in an attempt to remove the reptile, armed with a large pole and a rake. After quickly realising that the snake was too strong to be removed with his small rake and pole, two police officers came on to get involved and help. Things took an expected and aggressive turn when the police officers appeared to try and cut off the snake's head by pushing down on the reptile with their riot shields. Eventually a volunteer staff member was able to grab the snake from behind the back of its head to carry it away, before three men carried the snake away and put it in a bag.

Following the incident, the match was able to continue and Nueva Concepcion held onto their 1-0 lead for their first win of the season.

Recently, a cat which stopped play during Sheffield Wednesday's win against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday was reunited with its owner and being missing for over seven months. Related links:

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