Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini trips Barcelona forward Lionel Messi during The Gunners' 2-0 loss to the Catalans in 2015/16 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match which was played at The Emirates on Tuesday. | image source: eurosport.co.uk |
A former English athlete who became annoyed during Arsenal's 2-0 loss to Barcelona at The Emirates took out her frustration on her TV and smashed its screen using a remote control.
Like many fans of The Gunners, 39-year-old Kelly Sotherton was following the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 First Leg match with keen interest and high hopes that Arsenal would be able to tame the best team in the world at the moment.
Kelly Sotherton represented England at Heptathlon and 400 metres at two Olympic games (2004 and 2008) and two IAAF World Championships (2005 and 2007).
She won bronze in Heptathlon at Athens 2004.
Arsenal provided every indication that they would get a result against Barcelona but they were later punished for their lack of composure in front of goal by Barcelona's efficiency.
As Arsenal continued missing chance after chance, so did the frustrations of their fans grow and for Kelly, her emotions reached boiling point when French midfielder Mathieu Flamini gave away a penalty after being on the pitch for only 47 seconds.
Flamini had replaced compatriot Francis Coquelin in the 82nd minute and he gave Turkish referee Cuynet Cakir no choice but to point to the spot after he tripped Lionel Messi who had scored Barcelona's first goal in the 71st minute.
Angered by that event, Sotherton felt she had seen enough and aimed her remote control at her TV destroying its screen completely.
She must have used so much force because the remote control got lodged in the TV screen.
As a result, she missed seeing Messi tucking away the penalty to assure the Catalans of victory.
The following photo is of her TV after the incident.
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