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​Football Fans Throw Controllers On Pitch In E-Sports Protest

​Football Fans Throw Controllers On Pitch In E-Sports Protest

I hope they had spare pads...

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

In an attempt to prevent eSports from being introduced to their club, fans at Young Boys, a Swiss football team, threw controllers and tennis balls onto the pitch during a match.

The referee was forced to pause the fixture between Young Boys and Basel - a team already experimenting with eSports - until everything was picked up.

A massive pause button banner, carried by people in the stands, managed to find its way round the stadium - even in the away end, where some Basel fans were obviously not happy about eSports, too.

At the time of writing this article, Young Boys aren't yet involved in eSports, but it will be interesting to see if this protest actually worked [via EuroGamer]. At least it didn't disrupt their side - they won 7-1.

Delving into the virtual side of the beautiful game seems to be coming quite popular with football teams. The likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and West Ham have all experimented with professional FIFA players.

Said players wear replica club shirts and travel the world competing at various tournaments, but why Young Boys's "Ultras" don't want their team involved is beyond me.

Yes, their actual team gets more funding, but opening the doors to eSports is a great way of promoting their club and getting people interested in football, Young Boys in particular.

I guess we'll just have to wait to find out whether the Swiss team hires a pro FIFA player, although I don't want to imagine what will be thrown of the pitch if they do...

Featured Image Credit: RTS Sports

Topics: GAMING, Entertainment, FIFA, Technology, Protest