10 hours ago
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Cardiff City have defended their pest control policy after a rat made an appearance on the pitch during the second half of Wales' World Cup qualifier against Belgium.
Belgium's Real Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois made an unsuccessful attempt to catch the rodent during his side's 4-2 win at Cardiff City Stadium.
Wales substitute Brennan Johnson ushered the rat off the pitch as play was briefly halted.
The rat then slipped past a ball boy and disappeared behind the VAR monitor and digital advertising boards and was not seen again.
"It's something I've not seen in my 36 years at Cardiff City," said Cardiff City's head of operations Wayne Nash.
"We've had a stray dog on the pitch but this was something new, a freak of nature."
Nash explained the location of the stadium on the outskirts of the Welsh capital explains where the rodent likely came from.
"The stadium is close to allotments and railway sidings and we know rats can be problematic," he said.
"The railway bankings can be infested with rats. We know they are in the area and we do have the odd sighting of them.
"But we work closely with our pest control partners and do everything we can to keep them away."
Rat bait stations are in operation at the stadium and the club say stringent cleaning policies are followed.
"We pick up litter and food like half-eaten burgers straight after games. Everything is put away," added Nash, who also works as a security manager for the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Uefa.
"They say you are never too far from a rat, especially in cities, and this one managed to get in.
"People have seen a rat on the pitch as quite funny, but it does have serious undertones.
"If I was the ball boy or Brennan Johnson I would have run a mile."
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