Days after they were turned over by Manchester United, fans of Swiss side Young Boys staged a bizarre protest against eSports.
With the score goalless in the first half at home to FC Basel, the club’s ultras – hardcore supporters – threw PlayStation 4 controllers as well as tennis balls on to the artificial playing surface.
The protest at the Stade de Suisse was an attempt at stopping the club introducing an eSports team.
Fans would rather see money invested in the real team and facilities than digital competitions.
FC Basel already has such a team and the visiting fans took part in the protest by helping a massive ‘pause button’ banner travel around the terraces.
Young Boys ultras threw tennis balls and PS4 controllers on the pitch during game against Basel to protest eSports pic.twitter.com/N402uKyjLt
— Hipcat (@ScottSlocombe) September 24, 2018
The referee halted the game for several minutes before the items could be removed from the pitch.
When play resumed, Young Boys went on to hammer Basel 7-1 in scenes which might have come straight out of videogame FIFA 18.