A soccer player for an amateur league team in Istanbul had to unexpectedly deputize as an emergency veterinarian during a match in the Turkish city last weekend.
The goalkeeper for a team playing in red went to boot the ball upfield, but instead left the entire pitch in shock when the ball traveled a mere 20 yards and walloped a passing seagull.
The bird hit the turf, seemingly dead.
The event was captured on video and shared on the soccer channel of the social media site Reddit, which revels in amateur league bizarrities, from Turkey more than most, where other recent videos include a referee allowing play to continue with two balls on the pitch, another where a sideline referee had a bicycle thrown at him from the stands, and a third where a referee in a third-tier league was filmed conducting a grass inspection despite more than a foot of snow covering the pitch.
A player wearing number 5 ran over, turned the bird on his back, and was filmed performing CPR in an earnest attempt to save it, while teammates and opposition players surrounded to watch.
At one point, the player seems to give up, but then carries on until he sees signs of life in the bird.
Ferrying the animal off the field, he was directed to the medical staff who entered the pitch through a chain-link fence, took the seagull, and the game was allowed to continue.
Only in Turkey, the headline might have read.
WATCH the seagull saga below…
Goalkeeper in Istanbul's amateur league hit a seagull; a player performed CPR, resuscitated it, and handed it to medical staff.
by u/PrimedGold in soccer
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