--- title: A Dog Entered a Soccer Game and Proved It's the Real MVP description: A dog disrupted a soccer match between two professional Turkish teams — but his soccer skills made the crowd love it anyway. canonical: https://time.com/5785871/turkey-dog-soccer/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-02-18T18:29:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:18.486Z og:title: A Dog Entered a Soccer Game and Proved It's the Real MVP og:description: A dog disrupted a match between two professional Turkish soccer teams og:url: https://time.com/5785871/turkey-dog-soccer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Dog Entered a Soccer Game and Proved It's the Real MVP twitter:description: A dog disrupted a match between two professional Turkish soccer teams twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # An Interloping Dog Entered a Soccer Game and Proved He's the Real Star of the Sport > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=700e57bb-db33-4bcc-b53a-36c52616ca30&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 18, 2020 6:29 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 18, 2020 6:29 PM UTC Dogs just want to [get in on the game](https://time.com/5782524/westminster-dog-show-2020/), too. That was certainly the case for one [eager pup](https://time.com/longform/westminster-dog-show-photos/) who interrupted a match between two professional Turkish soccer teams at an Istanbul stadium over the weekend. But the canine interloper wasn’t just a stray distraction: the dog was clearly there to prove he was [perfectly capable](https://time.com/5782390/westminster-dog-show-bono-the-havanese-dog/) of handling the ball, evading players’ attempts to secure it back for about 20 seconds with some impressive skills that even the game’s commentator had to applaud. Eventually, it was lured off the pitch — but not for long, reappearing on the sidelines with bountiful energy later in the game. [Reuters reports](https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-soccer-dog/uninvited-guest-hounds-players-in-turkish-soccer-match-idUKKBN20B1K8) it was ultimately a player, midfielder Zeki Yildirim, who finally picked up the pup and carted it off somewhere more secure so the two teams could finish their game without more furry (but frankly delightful) distractions. In the end, Yildirim’s team — the home side, Fatih Karagumruk Spor — bested visiting team Giresunspor 2-1\. Perhaps the dog was a secret home team advantage. Or perhaps it’s time for them to adopt it as an unofficial mascot, as it clearly got the crowd going. Either way, congrats to this canine for figuring out how to get onto the field, stealing the ball from paid players and winning the hearts of a whole new audience. 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