Players and fans alike tend to get riled up when their teams play their rivals. Emotions build, and at times, animosity is let out. In Saturday’s matchup between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the FIFA Player of the Year showed just that.
On a loose ball that ran towards the sidelines, soccer phenom Lionel Messi booted the ball directly at the opposing team’s fans rather than clearing the ball or kicking it out to stop the play. As a result, fans threw objects on the field, and several Real Madird players confronted Messi’s dirty play to his face.
But, Messi isn’t the only player to have attacked the opposing fans.
- In 2005 at Fenway Park, Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield got in a scuffle with a Red Sox fan.
- In 2008, Jets defensive end Shaun Ellis threw a snowball at a Seattle Seahawks fan.
- This past October, Vancouver Canucks center Rick Rypien shoved a Minnesota Wild fan after fighting on the ice.
- In perhaps the most memorable altercation, in 2004, Pacers forward Ron Artest attacked an Indiana Pacers fan in the stands.
Messi’s dirty play may not have been harmful, but it definitely was enough to show his animosity towards his team’s rival fans.
You can see the full video below:
