Soccer match suspended after red-card worthy parrot attacks players

A Brazilian football match was brought to a stunning halt after a parrot attacked one of the players.Flamengo and Ceara were in the 17th minute of their Under-15 cup match when the huge bird invaded the pitch.According to The Sun, the blue parrot flew down onto a Flamengo defender, knocking the player over.It then panicked a number of other footballers, before the referee stopped the match until the bird decided to vacate the pitch.The bird perched on the turf for a full 15 minutes before it flew away and the game was able to recommence.Yet later in the first half the parrot returned once more as the match was stopped for a second time in a hilarious scene.Eventually, the game did get back underway without interruption as Ceara came from behind to claim a 2-1 win over Flamengo.Yet the parrot incident stole the headlines.It was understood to be a blue-and-yellow macaw, which is native to South America.Despite it being a rather unusual scene, it is not the first time a parrot has interrupted a football game this year.Six months ago in Turkey, a seagull was hit by the ball during an amateur game between Istanbul Yurdum and Mevlanakapi.The bird, which was in the air at the time, was struck by a free-kick.It fell from the sky down onto the pitch as players from both sides rushed to help it.Yurdum captain Gani Catan reached the seagull first and began performing CPR on the bird.He then picked it up and carried it to the sideline to allow for further treatment....