A RUSSIAN Premier League match was interrupted by a SNAKE as ground staff used PITCHFORKS to remove it.
The clash between Akhmat Grozny and PFC Sochi was just six minutes in when players waved down officials.
The game in Chechnya was briefly halted as ground staff charged onto the pitch with rakes and pitchforks.
One member of staff attempted to flick the slithering creature off the field with his foot.
He then bent over with an outstretched hand, clearly considering grabbing the potentially-dangerous critter.
But ultimately he thought better of it and used his pitchfork.
The member of staff was eventually able to balance it over one of the prongs of his pitchfork and carry it off the pitch to safety.
While it was a scary few minutes for players and staff, fans were able to see the funny side.
One tweeted: “Football in Chechnya is something else…”
Another – pointing to AC Milan’s summer transfer window – wrote: “They really got a snake on the pitch in Grozny. Interested to see the memes.
“Presume Milan fans will say Donnarumma and Hakan signed for Akhmat.”
A third added: “A snake on the pitch.. is that Akhmat’s tactic now?”
But Sochi went on to win, taking a 2-0 lead before Akhmat halved the deficit late on to set up a nervy final five minutes.
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The win moved Sochi up to sixth in the table with just two games gone in the season, with Akhmat level on points but down in ninth.
Two games into the season, the usual suspects sit near the top of the Russian Premier League.
Zenit St Petersburg, Rubin Kazan, Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Moscow all have six points from a possible six.
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