Boar pitch invasion at Hunter Park cancels football match

Local officials said the wild boar had entered Dresden Borea’s Jaegerpark (Hunter Park) stadium during Friday night, derailing Saturday’s kickoff against Lokomotive Leipzig.

The boars left such big holes in the playing surface as they scavenged for food that there was no way the match in German’s fifth tier could be played.

This is the second time Liepzig, who lost the 1987 European Cup Winners Cup to Ajax, have had to call off a league game – last month’s match against FC Sachsen was washed out due to flooding the night before the game.

“We’re accustomed to problems in the cold months – ice, sudden onset of winter and so on,” said Lokomotive chairman Steffen Kubald on the club’s website.

“But this is the second time something unusual has happened and the schedule leaves us with no room.”

Coach Achim Steffens added: “We are in the middle of game preparation. Everything is designed around Saturday, you tinker with the details, the last training sessions went well and then you meet this new blow in the face.”

Of the four scheduled league games so far, Lokomotive have had to call off two and face league leaders Zwickau next Friday.