As New York City marched to a 2-1 win over LA Galaxy in MLS on Sunday, the home fans produced a tribute to a pigeon that was struck by a football on the very same turf two years ago.
During a pre-match warm-up at Yankee Stadium, ex-Chelsea hero Ashley Cole and Belgian utility man Jelle Van Damme were knocking the ball between one another when things took a turn for the worst: Van Damme inadvertently hit the innocent bird. After realising what he'd done, he carried the injured pigeon off the pitch - and it survived.
To pay their respects, NYCFC placed a plastic pigeon on a pole during last weekend's match.
Meanwhile, the gods didn't look down too kindly on Cole – he was shown an 85th-minute red card. Ouch.
See also...
Shakhtar's Facundo Ferreyra shoves ball boy over sponsor boards in Champions League exit
Watch: Retirement doesn't stop Francesco Totti from producing magic
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
