Conor McGregor's Arsenal pitch incident causes Premier League soccer club to adopt new protocols
Yesterday at 09:35 AM
Earlier last week, Conor McGregor was in attendance at a Champions League soccer game between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain and after an incident with the Irishman on the pitch, they’ve been forced to adopt new protocols.
While still on a hiatus from his UFC career, Conor McGregor has been enjoying himself by attending a Champions League soccer game between English Premier League side Arsenal and French club, Paris Saint-Germain earlier last week.
Conor McGregor throws leg kicks at Arsenal player on the pitch following the match
After Arsenal picked up a hugely impressive 2-0 against the French champions, ‘The Notorious’ went down to the pitch where he was seen having a playful kick-about with English stars, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
The three playfully passed the ball between them whilst talking about Rice’s previous ties to Ireland. Not long after, though, the former UFC double champion could be seen nonchalantly firing leg kicks at Saka, which left Arsenal fans seething after the star asked McGregor to ‘be careful’.
The 23-year-old winger is one of Arsenal’s star players and after a string of injury problems, fans were concerned that another one could’ve been caused.
Arsenal FC forced into adopting new protocols following the incident
Although the incident was playful and both Rice and Saka came out unscathed, it has led the Premier League club to review their matchday protocols to avoid similar things happening in the future.
According to The Sunday Times, McGregor gained access to the pitch without permission after enjoying the game from a VIP box. With the box being close to where the players gather following a game, ‘The Notorious’ got chatting to Rice and Saka outside the box and they eventually led him down the tunnel and onto the pitch.
The Irishman was not given permission to enter the pitch, however, because he was with two of the players, he wasn’t challenged by security until a few moments later when he was asked to leave the pitch and go back into the stadium.
Following the incident, the club is reportedly looking to change how things work and they are looking at an arrangement whereby players are allowed to mix with corporate guests but not in the way McGregor did.
Not only that but it is stated that the club is looking to distance itself from McGregor’s ‘brand’ due to the number of controversial incidents he has been involved in recently.
