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Tottenham forward Brennan Johnson jumped into action during an enforced stoppage when Wales faced Belgium on Monday evening
Brennan Johnson found himself performing an unexpected task during Wales' 4-2 World Cup qualifier defeat against Belgium on Monday night - chasing a live rat off the pitch. Cardiff City's head of operations claimed that he had never seen a rat run onto the pitch before at the club's 33,280-seater stadium.
Tottenham winger Johnson was a second-half substitute, but instead of trying to force a comeback for the hosts, he found himself having to chase a rodent off the field of play to ensure the game could continue.
The small animal scurried under the VAR monitor and was never seen again once Johnson hurried it off the side of the pitch after Belgium and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had failed to catch it. League One club Cardiff have since defended their pest control policy.
“It’s something I’ve not seen in my 36 years at Cardiff City,” said Wayne Nash (via PA), the club’s head of operations who also works as a security manager for the Football Association of Wales and Uefa. “We’ve had a stray dog on the pitch but this was something new, a freak of nature.
READ MORE: Tottenham dealt fresh injury blow as defender limps off on international dutyREAD MORE: Sweden boss explains why Tottenham star Lucas Bergvall was subbed off at half-time“The stadium is close to allotments and railway sidings and we know rats can be problematic. 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.”
Cardiff insisted that they have been following strict protocols centred around cleanliness.
Nash continued: “We pick up litter and food like half-eaten burgers straight after games. Everything is put away. 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.”
It was an extremely disappointing night for Wales as their World Cup qualification hopes suffered a serious blow.
Craig Bellamy's side will now have to finish their Group J campaign strong - likely with two victories over Liechtenstein and North Macedonia - if they are to stand a chance of booking their ticket to the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Even still, they will probably have to settle for a place in the play-offs, which still wouldn't guarantee their chances of participating in their second consecutive World Cup campaign.
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