Man Arrested After Smuggling Beloved Chicken Into Soccer Game

I'm always that guy at sporting event bag checks. I breeze through the front gate, ticket in hand, only to have a security guard toss out my cherished Nalgene and mistake my asthma inhaler for pepper spray. Yes, bag checks are a safety precaution, but they can be annoying—especially if you're trying to smuggle a live chicken into a soccer stadium in a backpack.

The Jerusalem Post reports that a Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv Football Club superfan was arrested over the weekend. The man's crime? Associating with Yehuda Goher, the self-proclaimed "chicken king," and attempting to sneak Goher's beloved chicken, Rambo, into the team's stadium prior to a match.

Per the Post, Goher's unnamed friend was arrested at the stadium's turnstiles while attempting to sneak Rambo inside his backpack. Goher told Israeli news source KAN that he and his friends have been toting chickens to Bnei Yehuda games for 41 years, a tradition that began after a particularly sore losing streak. "We slaughtered a lamb, brought rabbis, nothing helped," Goher told KAN. Goher, along with a few other fans, attempted a few more rituals—before inexplicably deciding that chickens were the team's good luck charm.

Goher claims that he's since hauled toted six generations of chickens, all named Rambo, to Bnei Yehuda games. He calls the current chicken "the team's 12th man" and insists that he poses no threat to fans. "He's loving, he loves the fans, the television, the entire world... He does not bite and he does not cause any trouble," Goher says.

Unfortunately, Goher failed to contact the soccer club's owners about their poultry policy, which is how Goher's buddy ended up arrested—and Rambo ended up in police custody.

As for the soccer team, they won the match. Maybe Rambo doesn't have to stick around for the full match to work his magic. Hey, Rambo: fancy a trip to the Windy City? I could use a dose of chicken luck.