Giant Czech flag swallows World Cup staff member after national anthems

We all loved playing parachute games at school, but the idea of being unexpectedly involved in one against your will is a terrifying prospect, as we're sure you'll agree.

So we can only imagine the horror and humiliation of the poor person who got wrapped up in a gigantic Czech Republic flag ahead of the nation's 1-1 draw with South Korea at the World Cup.

The public embarrassment in blue, red and white did not go unnoticed by fans at Zapopan's Estadio Akron, who could be heard laughing uproariously at the poor victim's struggle.

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Czech flag envelops World Cup pitch staff

Every game at this World Cup gets under way with the squads from both nations gathering around the centre-circle with gigantic representations of their flags taking up most of their half of the pitch behind them.

Those flags are removed by a line of people grabbing one end and running across the surface of the flag to the other end until it is folded in half, and in half again, before being rolled up and carried off.

The problem is that if you trip and fall, or get outpaced by your colleagues, you can end up stuck inside the flag without anybody else noticing - which is exactly what happened here.

This kind of incident is not unheard of in North American sport. Fans of the Cincinnati Reds have long worshipped at the altar of the almighty Tarp Monster, which claims ground staff on a semi-regular basis throughout the baseball season.

Nobody really knows what happens to those unfortunate souls who get swallowed by the Tarp Monster.

Some say they emerge in some familiar yet completely alien alternate reality, or Mirror Universe if you prefer.

Others speculate that to be absorbed by the Tarp Monster is to become the Tarp Monster, and that the only way to escape is to claim another victim to take your place, like The Ring, Final Destination, or a reverse Santa Clause.

In this case, reports suggest that a confused Mexican national was spotting staggering around the streets of Prague wearing a high-vis jacket.

We wish them well in their journey home.