Bizarre incident happened on camera Thursday during World Snooker Championship.
Viewers of the World Snooker Championship in the UK were shocked when a live broadcast inadvertently showed a man nuzzling a child’s face before biting the boy’s ear.
Footage from the Thursday, April 25, event shows world champion snooker player Stephen Hendry giving a sit-down interview, while a man standing behind him in the audience can be seen touching his face against the face of a young child.
The Daily Mail has more on the bizarre incident:
The man, relation unknown, appeared to whisper in the child’s ear before proceeding to nibble on his ear with viewers left shocked.
The boy seem unfazed as he noticed he could be seen on the live broadcast and then smiled and waved towards the camera as the man pulled back.
Some claimed the clip merely showed a father innocently expressing his love for his son.
father and son, get over it, it’s not pedo
— troggy (@troggy6) April 25, 2024
However, many other viewers recoiled at the apparent child abuse and called on the South Yorkshire Police to investigate the incident.
“The demons are out in the open,” commented Alex Jones on the disturbing footage. “They infest the school systems of the western world and they are coming for YOUR children!”
This is not normal behaviour and really disturbing. I truly hope this child is tracked down and spoken to by the appropriate services to make sure he is safe. Please can we push this so that this is looked into.
— PinkLady 💜🤍💚 (@lady23_pink) April 26, 2024
That was the most disturbing thing I’ve watched in a very long time
— AJ (@rockreborn22) April 25, 2024
This is creepy AF. Hope they find this dude.
— Burt Macklin (@BurtMaclin_FBI) April 25, 2024
This is so upsetting, that child needs rescuing.
— Billy Bragg (@Serena_Partrick) April 26, 2024
One woman posting to X said she couldn’t sleep because of the video.
The South Yorkshire Police responded to the Mail, writing: “Yesterday, Thursday 25 April at 9.20pm, we received a call to inform us of a video circulating on social media of a man and a boy at the Crucible in Sheffield.”
“We are aware of the footage and officers will be reviewing the content,” they added.
“A spokesperson for the World Snooker Tour said on Friday: ‘we are aware of this incident and it is now a police matter,’” The Mail also noted.