A pitch invader entered a Brazilian Serie D soccer match Saturday to prevent a last minute certain goal from being scored, and helped his team advance in the playoffs. And the pitch invader happened to be the masseur for the club who advanced.

In the first leg, the score ended 1-1. In the second leg, the score was tied at 2-2 with only a minute to go. With Aparecidence (in white uniform) being the away team, they would have advanced into the semi-finals of the playoff on away goals. But Tupi (in black and white uniform) launched an attack in the last minute of the second half, and were just about to score when Ademilson beat the goalkeeper and kicked the ball from close range only for Aparecidence’s masseur, who was standing by the goalpost, stopping the ball — not once, but twice — from crossing the line.

Not surprisingly, the players from Tupi were incensed and chased the masseur, who managed to escape them into the bowels of the stadium.

The match continued and ended 2-2, with Aparecidence advancing into the semi-finals of the playoffs and Tupi being eliminated from the competition.

Reports in Brazil say that officials from Tupi are taking the matter to court to get the game result overturned.

You’ve got to watch the videos below to believe it.

What I find amazing is that the masseur tries to hold on to his jug of water as he runs to safety, only letting it go at the last minute.

As far as the rules go, unless someone can advise differently, the referee was correct in his decision not to award a goal. The masseur should be fined and banned from the sport, but I would be surprised if Tupi will be able to overturn the final result. If the masseur wasn’t there and the goal had been scored, Tupi would have advanced to the semi-final of the playoff competition.

H/T 101 Great Goals.