South Yorkshire Police confirm they are reviewing footage after viral video emerges of a man bizarrely biting a young boy’s ear at the World Snooker Championship
- Viewers noticed the strange moment in the background of Thursday’s coverage
- One posted a clip of it on social media and it has now been viewed more than 10 million times
- It is not known if they are related and South Yorkshire Police are investigating
South Yorkshire Police have confirmed they are ‘reviewing’ the footage after a man bit a young boy’s ear during coverage of the World Cup at The Crucible in Sheffield on Thursday.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry was speaking during a break in play in BBC’s coverage of the afternoon session when the disturbing moment could be seen over his left shoulder in the background.
The man, whose relationship is unknown, appeared to whisper in the child’s ear before nibbling on his ear, leaving viewers shocked.
The boy seemed unfazed when he noticed he was featured during the live broadcast, smiling and waving at the camera as the man retreated.
Mail Sport contacted South Yorkshire Police who had this to say: ‘Yesterday, Thursday 25th April at 9.20pm we received a call informing us of a video circulating on social media of a man and a boy in the Crucible in Sheffield.
A man (right) was seen biting a boy’s ear during BBC Snooker coverage on Thursday
South Yorkshire Police have confirmed they are currently assessing the footage
‘We are aware of the images and officers will assess the contents.’
A spokesperson for the World Snooker Tour said on Friday: ‘we are aware of this incident and it is now a police matter.’
One fan quickly posted the clip of the incident to social media, writing: “What the hell did I just see?!” with the ‘sick’ emoji.
The video had been viewed more than 12 million times and liked 58,000 times as of Friday morning, with X users expressing their disgust.
“This is very disturbing,” one wrote, while another said: “I just threw up.”
Another wrote: ‘that is absolutely shocking. That poor child. Find this man.’
Many even went so far as to claim that the boy needed protection and that the man should be arrested.