Australia’s premier football match was called off after a flock of seagulls invaded the pitch and landed on the spot where a free-kick was taken in the final minute. A strange flock of seagulls appeared during the A-League match between Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
In the 90th minute, a seagull suddenly swooped onto the pitch near where Newcastle Jets midfielder Lachlan Bayliss was preparing to take a free-kick. The pesky birds gathered around the player who took the free kick and turned their attention to disrupting the flow of the match.
The match ended in a 2-2 draw, but despite the thrilling match, it was the seagulls who really stole the spotlight after footage of the incident spread like wildfire on social media.
One X user wrote, “Seagulls love soccer!” Another said: “A-League is at its peak when the pitch is covered in seagulls. It’s pure, unadulterated chaos.”
Other supporters mocked Brighton in the Premier League, suggesting this was a fitting home fixture.
Many fans were also confused as to why so many seagulls had gathered in certain areas of the pitch, with some speculating that supporters had thrown food into them from the stands.
Despite the extraordinary scenes, Victory manager Arthur Diles neglected to mention the Seagulls in his post-match interview, but there were grounds for optimism in his team’s draw.
He said: “I think these two games deserve more recognition, but they hurt me at the end. I have to concentrate on my performance, but the performance in that game was good for the most part, so this is a positive sign.”
“We also want to play well. It’s not just about getting points, but ultimately points should translate into good performances. It’s disappointing when we didn’t get three points, when we felt like we could probably get them. It’s hard to get them, but we want to go again.”
Newcastle Jets, who currently lead the A-League, also chose not to raise the issue of the Seagulls, even though a late free-kick that could have created a chance to win the game was thwarted by Seagull interference.
