LONDON: Twelve men dressed as Santas stormed the football ground in a UK town during half time, prompting police and stewards to eject them from the venue.
The incident happened during a match between Cheltenham Town and Portsmouth at the Cheltenham Club’s stadium on Saturday.
“Although pitch invasion is an offence for which people can be charged, police consider this was an appropriate and proportionate response to a low level incident just prior to Christmas,” police official was quoted by BBC News.
The dozen Father Christmas were fans of the respective clubs and had invaded to support their clubs, who were then ejected during half time from the stadium by match stewards.
The stewards were supported by the police in their handling of the event, and responded to this incident by taking the names of the fans for this offence, for which they will be reported.
Police described it as a “minor incident”. The match finally ended in a 1-1 draw.
