Chinese pitch invader detained after hugging Messi
A fan (center) embraces Argentina's Lionel Messi (right) during a friendly football match between Australia and Argentina at the Workers' Stadium in Beijing on June 15, 2023.
Chinese police detained a young football fan and barred him from stadiums for a year after he invaded the pitch and embraced Lionel Messi during an Argentina-Australia friendly in Beijing, authorities said on Friday.
The jersey-clad man ran onto the pitch at the Worker's Stadium midway through the match's second half on Thursday night and scored a hug from his idol before being chased down by guards.
The crowd roared and clapped at the man's antics, but the police were not amused.
"The Chaoyang District public security bureau has already imposed administrative detention on him in accordance with the law," police said in a statement on Friday, identifying the 18-year-old by his surname Di.
Police ordered Di not to attend matches at stadiums for the next 12 months.
"Di also expressed remorse for his actions and accepted the punishment from the public security organ," the statement added, without specifying how long Di had been detained or whether he had been released.
More than 50,000 people in Beijing braved the searing heat on Thursday to watch Messi lead his team to a 2-0 win over the Socceroos.
Many donned shirts bearing Messi's name, while others wore blue-and-white face paint and waved miniature Argentina flags.
Hundreds of fans had massed outside the team's luxury hotel earlier in the week and lined heavily guarded streets in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their hero.
