Pitch invaders have now been regulars at heavyweight soccer games, especially finals. The Copa America final was a disaster in that sense, as the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami saw thousands of fans invade the stadium without tickets. Though not as disastrous as the Copa final, the women’s soccer gold medal game in the Paris Olympics is no outlier either. A ‘Spiderman’ made sure he got into the pitch at Parc des Princes before the Team USA and Brazil players. And it was not a very friendly neighborhood vibe that followed!

As it happened, a fan wearing a Spiderman costume rushed to the pitch before the starting whistle for the USA-Brazil game. We could see an Olympic security personnel trying to take the fan out of the pitch instantly. But their effort was in vain. Soon, four other personnel rushed to the scene and a crowd of five staff had to lift and carry the Spiderman fan out of the pitch so that the gold medal game could start without much chaos.

The Athletic’s Meg Linehan shared a video of the chaos on his X handle. He said, “Honestly don’t think either team noticed.” Indeed how would Emma Hayes notice this mayhem when she has to survive the heat wave of thriving in an Olympic gold medal game with Brazil? Brazilian legend Marta also perhaps overlooked the invader, as she is eyeing an Olympic gold in what is perhaps her last dance with the Canarinha.

After the fan’s chaos, Team USA and Brazil embarked on a tightly-fought start, with both teams struggling to find the net after so many attempts. Meanwhile, what is interesting is that this gold medal game is one among the many soccer matches to be invaded by a fan with a ‘Spiderman’ outfit.

Spiderman costumes have been regulars at soccer games way before USWNT’s gold medal match

The first famous instance of a Spiderman pitch invader at a soccer game was in 2014, when an 18-year-old fan disrupted a Sunderland-Manchester City game, donning the Marvel hero’s attire. That fan was slapped with a $499 fine for his antics. It is unclear if the Spiderman at Paris would also face the same plight. Then in 2017, yet another fan dressed up in Spidey’s costume and invaded as West Ham-Manchester City game. Man City, interestingly, seems to be Spiderman’s favorite!

Anyhow, it is a huge relief for the Olympic committee that neither the USWNT players nor the Brazil players noticed the invader. Historically, players have crossed paths with such invaders. While players such as Cristiano Ronaldo have an affinity to them, the recent Copa showed players are not always fan-friendly. The Copa organizers are yet to get rid of the shame of seeing Uruguay players fight Colombian fans during the semi-final. Thankfully Paris came clean of such an awful incident.