Spanish soccer fans are used to late kickoffs, but many Sevilla FC fans thought 10:30 p.m. was just ridiculous.
They let the powers that be know how they felt about the late start by protesting with a hailstorm of tennis balls, according to the Metro.
The protest took place shortly after kickoff Saturday night. When the referee blew the whistle to start the game, Sevilla fans began throwing tennis balls onto the field at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Staffers tried to clear the first volley from the field, but it was followed by an even larger barrage. Finally, the referee had to stop the game while the debris was cleared from the field.
Fans hung a banner behind the goal that read "Stop the match, that Mou is talking."
It was in reference to Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. Fans assumed he would be delivering his postgame news conference at that moment.
Spanish soccer authorities pushed back the start of the Sevilla-Levante game so it wouldn't conflict with Barcelona's clash with Real Madrid. "El Clasico," as the game is known, drew hundreds of millions of viewers around the world, and federation bosses wanted to ensure that every Spanish fan would be tuning in … even if it meant ensuring that Sevilla-Levante would end Sunday morning.
Rather than stay home on the late night (or hit the streets early for a night on the town), Sevilla fans flexed their collective muscles.
See the Sevilla fans' tennis ball protest in the video below.
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