A quick-thinking football player rushed to the rescue of an injured seagull after it was knocked out by a goal kick during an amateur league match in Turkey.
The seagull was circling the pitch during a play-off final match between Mevlanakapi Guzelhisar against Istanbul Yurdum Spor, a tense conclusion to the season with the championship still up for grabs.
But disaster struck after 22 minutes when it was struck by a goal kick from the Istanbul goalkeeper, falling from the sky with a thud.
Play was immediately stopped by the referee with Istanbul captain Gani Catan immediately rushing over to tend to the fallen bird.
The skipper started performing CPR on the injured animal, pumping its ribcage as the rest of the players on the pitch gathered around him to watch on.
Catan’s quick actions appeared to do the trick with the seagull seen moving again as he carried it off the pitch to hand over to medical staff.
‘Something was falling and I realised it was a seagull. The first thing that came to my mind was heart massage, because it couldn’t breathe, so I tried my luck,’ Catan told state news agency Anadolu.
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Onur Ozsoy called the action in what was surely a first for football commentary. ‘Muhammet hit the seagull!” he gasped, referring to the Istanbul goalkeeper.
‘They’re doing chest compressions on the seagull right now, this is a moment rarely seen in football history. The seagull is being carried off, he’s been taken to the sidelines with the medical bag where his treatment will continue.’
Ozsoy later claimed on the broadcast he had been informed the stricken seagull was ‘walking again’ after suffering wing damage.
Istanbul went onto lose the match but the hero of the afternoon Catan was satisfied with his day’s work.
‘We missed out on the championship, but it’s a wonderful thing to have helped save a life. This was more important than the championship.’
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