Grizzly bear hands ball to referee, Russian football league under fire

The Russian football league has stoked a controversy after a video of a grizzly bear handing over the ball to the referee before the start of a match went viral on social media. Animal rights groups and activists have slammed the act, while many others took to Twitter to condemn it. Elisa Allen, director of animal welfare organisation PETA, reportedly called the incident “inhumane and utterly out of touch”.

Russian third division football - Mashuk-KMV v Angusht in Pyatigorsk. Tim the bear on the sidelines getting the crowd warmed up! #Russia @RusFootballNews @CrazyinRussia pic.twitter.com/Ev36YhgnU3

— Mark Bullen (@markgbullen) April 16, 2018