Moment footballer ARRESTED during match & hauled off pitch in handcuffs by cops – just minutes after scoring a goal

THIS is the moment a footballer is arrested during a match and escorted off the pitch – while just moment earlier he’d scored a goal.

The non-league player came on in the 52nd minute with his team, Baglan Dragons, trailing 3-1 in the JD Cymru South game against Cwmbran Celtic on September 7.

After creating two goals and scoring another, the 31-year-old carried his team to a narrow 4-3 triumph in the second-tier Welsh league game.

But his afternoon ended five minutes from time when two policemen walked onto the pitch and escorted him away.

In a video posted on X, spectators appeared to shout words of encouragement to the player, before clapping him off the pitch.

The poster captioned the video: “Just a casual game in the Welsh leagues.

“A lad gets subbed on, scores a goal and gets an assist. Then gets arrested in the 85th minute. Only in South Wales”.

After the game, a disconsolate Cwmbran manager Simon Berry said of the incident: “Fair play to him, he came on the pitch and completely transformed the game.

“He assisted in the two goals that drew them level and then banged in the winner.

“He played really well for 20 minutes and then the police arrived and took him away.

“There was a three minute stoppage in the game and Baglan were forced to substitute him before he was escorted away.

“It was a mad few minutes, a bit surreal. If they’d come a bit earlier for him before he came on we might have held onto our lead.”

X, formerly Twitter, users expressed their confusion after the clip was posted.

One asked: “What did he do?”

Another echoed: “Why did he get arrested?”

Others shared memories of past intrusions in Welsh football games, with one saying: “Don’t forget last year up at caernarfon either where a knife was allegedly drawn in the stand”.

Baglan Dragons were promoted to the Cymru South league in 2023 after beating Risca United in the Ardal South Promotion Play-Off final.

The team finished in tenth place in the 2023/4 season, with victories against local rivals Afan Lido, Goytre United, Trefelin and Pontardawe Town.

The recent win against Cwmbran Celtic seems to be the first in several fixtures, with recent losses to Penrhiwceiber Rangers, Trefelin BGC, Ammanford AFC and Carmarthen Town.

A spokesperson for the South Wales Police said: “Officers arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of theft. He was later released without charge.”

The Sun Online has approached Baglan Dragons for comment.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk