Watch Sam Kerr send pitch invader tumbling to the ground during Chelsea’s Champions League draw with Juventus

Chelsea v Juventus - UEFA Women's Champions League - Group A - Kingsmeadow
PA
Marc Mayo9 December 2021

A pitch invader got more than he bargained for when running onto the pitch during Chelsea’s game with Juventus - and ended up laid out on the turf after a shoulder barge from Sam Kerr.

The Blues’ Women’s Champions League match against Juventus on Wednesday was interrupted when the fan ran across the pitch, filming the footage on their phone.

Perhaps expecting a steward to gently escort them off the premises, he was blindsided by Australian striker Kerr as she lined up a tackle that sent them flying.

Huge cheers from the crowd greeted the KO, which also earned Kerr a booking on a frustrating night for Chelsea.

Manager Emma Hayes saw both sides of the incident at Kingsmeadow, chuckling at her player’s resounding intervention while admitting her frustration at the fan being allowed to get so far.

“He could have waited until the end for a photograph if he really wanted one,” she said afterwards. “But jokes aside, we do have to think about player safety.

“We've seen in the growth of the game there is this sense of the players being more in demand. It should serve as a reminder to us all in our stadiums and with our stewards we've got to put player protection first.”

Kerr earned the appreciation of her countryman Andrew Symonds, the former cricketer who famously wiped out a streaker while playing at the Gabba in 2008.

Getty Images

“We’re obviously bred pretty tough here in Australia and don’t take backwards steps,” Symonds said on Fox Sports during Day 2 of The Ashes First Test.

“In the heat of competition there’s a lot of adrenaline and when someone interrupts the match like that it can be frustrating.

“Sammy obviously took things into her own hands when security couldn’t catch the bloke, so good for her.

“She’s an icon and obviously knows how to handle herself. I’d like to buy her a beer and chat about it.”

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