Football’s top 10 protests on video: Tennis balls, crutches, the Moonwalk
The Blackburn fan who released the chicken wrapped in a Blackburn flag during the game against Wigan, clearly wanted to let their owners (who made their millions from chicken meat) know that Ewood Park is not a happy coop. It certainly got the unhappy flock noticed, even if it wasn't quite as extreme as these other very effective protests from around the world...
TURKISH FANS DEFY NATIONAL FLARE BAN WITH LOADS MORE FLARES AND GIGANTIC PROTEST BANNER
When the Turkish FA decided to ban flares from their football matches, the nation's fans - who are famous for their love of pyrotechnics - weren't pleased. Top flight team Eskisehirspor responded by rolling out an enomous 'trollface' banner which had been peppered with holes simply to poke their now outlawed flares through.
SEVILLA FANS LAUNCH HUNDREDS OF TENNIS BALLS ONTO PITCH TO PROTEST AGAINST TV BROADCASTERS DELAYING KICK-OFF
A Spanish TV channel was so keen to broadcast the press conference after the Barcelona v Real Madrid game in April 2012 that they managed to delay the kick-off for Sevilla v Levante. The Sevilla fans, who were fed up with Barcelona's and Real Madrid unfair influence and dominance of TV coverage, protested by showering the pitch with tennis balls.
BARCELONA FANS AIM A PIGS HEAD AT LUIS FIGO FOLLOWING HIS TRANSFER TO REAL MADRID
Luis Figo’s £37m move from Barcelona to arch rivals Real Madrid in 2000 didn’t go down well at the Camp Nou and it hadn't been forgotten when he returned with Real two years later. Among the whiskey bottles, golf balls and (according to some players) the knife directed at Barcelona's 'traitor', was the head of a suckling pig.
GERMAN FANS HELP TO END THEIR TEAM'S GOAL DROUGHT USING HUGE ARROWS TO POINT AT THE NET
A five game goal drought inspired Magdebur's supporters to create a banner saying "Don't worry, we will show you where the goal is!" before passing round gigantic neon coloured arrows.
SWEDISH FANS REMAIN SILENT FOR THE FIRST TEN MINUTES OF A LOCAL DERBY TO PROTEST AGAINST NEW CROWD RULES
New rules designed to calm the often raucous behaviour of Swedish football fans were met with this ten minute silence from both sets of supporters from arch rivals AIK and DIF at the start of their derby game. The intention was to demonstrate how lifeless the games would be without the fans. It certainly is eerie...
AJAX SUPPORTERS WAIT UNTIL THE 14TH MINUTE TO TAKE THEIR SEATS IN PROTEST AGAINST RISING TICKET PRICES
In a backlash against the ever increasing ticket prices at Ajax, the Dutch side's 'hardcore' fans waited for fourteen minutes (Johan Cruyff's shirt number) before taking their seats at the 2010/11 Champions League game against AC Milan.
SPANISH TEAM REAL JAEN KNEEL DOWN FOR FIRST MINUTE OF GAME FOR NOT BEING PAID (AND GRACIOUS OPPONENTS DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE)
To show their disgust at not being paid for months and their dislike for the club's main shareholder Carlos Sanchez, Spanish side Real Jaen didn't move for the first minute of their game against Lucena in 2011. The good sports that they clearly are, Lucena stayed in their own half to support their colleagues until the minute was up.
FANS OF ARGENTINA'S RACING CLUB THROW CRUTCHES ONTO PITCH TO SHOW DISGUST IN FORM
We've no idea how they managed to get such a large of amount of full size crutches into the stadium but it certainly made clear how fed up Racing's fans were with their run of terrible results at the start of 2012.
GOALKEEPER TURNS HIS BACK ON PENALTY IN PROTEST AT REFEREE
With two men already sent off, a questionable injury time penalty was too much for Romanian League One side Vointa Sibiu, who walked off the pitch in protest at the referee's decisions. With the first choice goalkeeper one of those sent off, the back-up goalie was the only player to remain, but he wasn't playing ball either. After illegally turning his back on the first penalty attempt from the Petrolul Ploiest player, the penalty was retaken with no more than a shrug of the arms from the goalkeeper.
BRAZILIAN DEFENDER MOONWALKS IN PROTEST TO BOOKING
It was a real Thriller of a game when Sport Recife's defender Tobi received a yellow card for what he decided was a Bad referee decision and proceeded to do Michael Jackson's famous Moonwalk dance move in protest. It didn't make any difference though, the ref still told Tobi to Beat It...
What's the best football protest you've ever seen? Let us know below...