The England team were joined by an imposter on the pitch moments before their Nations League clash against the Republic of Ireland.
After both sides made their way onto the turf at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, a man sporting a replica England kit joined the Three Lions starting XI, who were stood in a line ahead of the national anthems.
The man, who has since been identified as YouTube prankster Jarvo, was swiftly removed from the pitch by authorities.
Jarvo, real name Daniel Jarvis, has been known to conduct pranks during sporting events, having made his way onto the pitch during the Cricket World Cup in 2023.
He also claimed responsibility for the infamous sex noise being played in the BBC studio during the pre-match build-up of an FA Cup tie between Wolves and Liverpool in January 2023.
The same thing also occurred during the Euro 2024 draw last December, which Jarvo also claims to have been behind.
The match ended up starting at 5:05pm, five minutes behind schedule with this incident, plus lengthy pre-match ceremonies also leading to the delay.
And talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham blasted the powers that be following the chaotic scenes.
Durham said on air at the game: “Well, the fans are waiting patiently as is everybody else. One of the longest introductions of officials to players I think I’ve ever witnessed in my life.
“It’s truly extraordinary. I’m not entirely sure UEFA have this in mind when they said, ‘yeah, we’ll have the players out.’ They’re certainly not sticking to the schedule and now there’s a little bit of booing going on.
“People are struggling to understand why this is all taking so long.
“He’s [Irish president Michael D. Higgins] just got to the match officials in the middle.
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“It’s taking forever. It’s extraordinary. We have four minutes to kick-off, post the anthems and post the handshakes, it could be a very very swift turn around before we get underway. Absolutely amazing.
“It absolutely bizarre situation. It really shouldn’t be happening. This is this is the longest I’ve ever seen this take.”
This is the opening round of fixtures of the 2024/25 Nations League with England in League B following their relegation from the top tier in the last edition.
The Three Lions took the lead early in the match through an assured finish by Declan Rice, who famously switched allegiances from Ireland to England, back in 2019.
On 26 minutes England went 2-0 up through a goal by Jack Grealish, who played for Ireland as an Under-17, Under-18 and Under-21. The strike was assisted by Rice, sealing the victory.
Meanwhile, with 10 minutes to go, another pitch invader interrupted the clash but he was swiftly dealt with by stadium security.
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