European rugby game delayed after parachutist stuck in stadium roof

The last-16 European Rugby Champions Cup match between Toulouse and Sale Sharks was delayed by 40 minutes on Sunday after the parachutist helping to deliver the match ball got stuck on the roof of the stadium.

After players from both teams had concluded their pre-match warm-ups, three paratroopers were scheduled to glide into the stadium and land on the field, but the third of these had their parachute caught on part of the awning of the stadium roof and stayed suspended above the supporters in the stand below.

Seats in the immediate vicinity below the parachutist were cleared as stadium staff rushed to place tackle shields and post protectors underneath the area for a safer landing and an inflatable mat was then set up.

A fire engine then entered that corner of the stadium, with the cherry-picker raised to safely disentangle the parachutist and bring him to safety — bringing loud cheers from the fans, with players re-emerging for a second warm-up ahead of kick-off, which took place at 4.40pm local time, 40 minutes after the scheduled start.

Stadium staff and the Toulouse mascot rushed to the corner of the stadium were the parachutist was trapped (David Rogers/Getty Images)

Such incidents in sport are rare. In 2008, a parachutist delivering the match ball ahead of Burnley’s home match against Ipswich Town in the second division of English football became stuck on the roof of the stand, causing the match to be delayed by an hour.

In 2021, two people were hospitalised after a Greenpeace activist crash-landed on the pitch ahead of the Euro 2020 match between Germany and France at Munich’s Allianz Arena. The activist had attempted to glide into the stadium but his powered parachute microlight struck spidercam cables and lost control.

The winners of Sunday’s last-16 tie between Toulouse and Sale will advance to the quarter-final stage to play Toulon, who defeated Saracens earlier this weekend.

(Photos: David Rogers/Getty Images)