Lee Mansell from UK's Bristol Rovers soccer team kissed opposing player J.J. O'Donnell from Gateshead after a confrontation in a match on Friday.
Mansell told BBC Radio Bristol on Monday, "We either clash heads and he goes down or I end up doing something silly. I did it to defuse the situation. It's the first time I've been booked for kissing someone." The kiss was cited by the referee with a yellow card.
"I got in the car to go home and saw Twitter had lit up, and my missus said, 'What the hell were you thinking?' But we had a laugh and a joke about it with the lads afterwards. It's another thing to add to the list of daft things I've done on the football pitch." Rovers won 3-2.
H/T BBC Sport
\u201cForget the mistletoe lads? @Official_BRFC's Lee Mansell goes in for a cheeky kiss with @GatesheadFC's JJ O'Donnell!\nhttps://t.co/J3zRnv5neJ\u201d— Football on BT Sport (@Football on BT Sport) 1419030829
The kiss to diffuse (or incite) seems to be a boxing tradition. We fully endorse the practice, and hope it will be taken up in Turkish oil wrestling soon.
.
