Nigerian defender Bright Osayi-Samuel, who plays for Turkish club Fenerbahçe, was seen pushing a violent pitch invader to the ground during a chaotic on-pitch brawl on Sunday night.
Tension rose at the end of Fenerbahce’s 3-2 win over Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig.
Former Manchester United player Fred scored two goals in the first half, and Fenerbahce sealed the victory with a late 87th-minute goal from Michy Batshuayi.
As Fenerbahce players gathered in the middle of the pitch to celebrate, a lone Trabzonspor fan ran onto the pitch to provoke them.
A person wearing a mask was quickly caught by security personnel.
More and more Trabzonspor fans were able to get past security, making it hard to keep control of the situation.
A video showed 26-year-old Osayi-Samuel in the middle of the chaos.
In a viral video on social media, Osayi-Samuel was seen chasing a fan and hitting him in the face, causing the fan to fall down.
In another video, Osayi-Samuel was celebrating when he noticed a fan running onto the field.
In the video, he confronted the fan, defended himself against a punch, and then punched back, while a security guard quickly took control of the situation.
During the incident, Osayi-Samuel had to be restrained by his teammates and security as things escalated.
During a recent match, a fan was seen holding a corner flag as if it could be used as a weapon.
According to a report from Mirror UK, the situation escalated when some home fans started throwing objects onto the field, targeting players, coaches, and referees.
Several players and staff from Fenerbahce quickly went to the tunnel to seek safety.
Osayi-Samuel joined Fenerbahce from QPR in 2021, after starting his career at Blackpool.<
The Nigerian player has played in 126 games for the Turkish team.
Watch video below:
Here are some pictures from the incident showing the chaotic scenes on the field: