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The FIFA Club World Cup is underway, where some of professional soccer’s best teams from around the world are competing to see who’s at the top of the heap.
But, the craziness of foreign soccer fans has hit the United States, with chaos ensuing in Philadelphia on Wednesday afternoon.
Manchester City of the Premier League in England and Wydad AC, who compete in Botola of Morocco, took the pitch at Lincoln Financial Field on Wednesday – but the players weren’t the only people, or objects, on the field.
During the game, protesters invaded the field. The pitch invaders took the field with a sign that said “Morocco! Stop shooting dogs and cats.”
He ran for a few seconds before he was tackled by security workers and escorted out of the stadium. One of the protesters’ shirt and sign included the logo of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
According to PETA, “homeless cats and dogs in Morocco are being shot, poisoned, and left to die in cages without food or water.” The government has expanded a “Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate and Return” program for stray animals, but activists have claimed that animals are being killed rather than neutered.
PETA wrote about the incident on X.
“Activists stormed the @FIFACWC field to expose Morocco’s mass shooting, poisoning, and burning alive of dogs and cats ahead of the 2030 FIFA World Cup in order to make the country’s streets look presentable,” PETA wrote.
“Call on the Moroccan government to end the slaughter of homeless animals and tell FIFA to stop standing by while animals die.”
Morocco is among the hosts of the 2030 World Cup.
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Later on, the atmosphere at the game became potentially dangerous, as Wydad fans threw smoke flares onto the field. Fire crackers were reportedly being thrown onto the pitch as well. A flare thrown behind Manchester City goalie Ederson caused a brief stoppage in the second half.
Manchester City’s Phil Foden scored two minutes into the match and later had an assist to lead the Premier League powerhouse to a 2-0 victory.
In the 88th minute, Rico Lewis was shown a red card after a hard foul on Samuel Obeng, leaving City with 10 men on the field.
Manchester City leads Group G and will face Al-Ain on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Wydad remains in Philadelphia, where it will face another tough opponent in Juventus.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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