Major League Soccer (MLS) player Sebastian Giovinco drank in the atmosphere when his Toronto side drew 2-2 with Atlanta, swigging a beer thrown at teammate Jozy Altidore by rival fans on Sunday.
The incident occurred during the clash between Atlanta and league leaders Toronto on MLS Decision Day - the day on which each MLS team plays at the same time with play-off places at stake.
Toronto trailed 1-0 on the hour mark, when Altidore latched onto a Drew Moor through ball to poke home an equalizer and wheeled away to celebrate in front of the Atlanta fans, cupping his ear to the crowd.
The group of Atlanta fans behind their team’s goal responded by throwing missiles at Altidore, and a plastic cup of beer landed just inches from the US-international striker, who tried to head it before it hit the ground.
His Italian teammate Giovinco went one better and picked up the cup, downing the remaining contents before turning to celebrate with Altidore.
Toronto fell behind once again on 74 minutes but, 10 minutes later, the thirsty Giovinco scored a stunning free-kick equalizer in front of the 71,874 crowd at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The former Juventus man’s sublime strike ensured that the game ended level at 2-2.
Giovinco’s beer-drinking stunt is similar to an incident that previously occurred in the Bulgarian First League, when FC Vereya defender Ivan Bandalovski took a swig from a can of beer that had been hurled onto the pitch during a game against Levski Sofia. He went on to score a last-minute equalizer.