Luis Moreno Kicks Owl Off Field: Fans Cry After Panama Defender Injures Mascot (VIDEO)

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Soccer fans are crying fowl over kicking an owl. In fact, they're crying a lot worse.

Panama defender Luis Moreno is facing sanctions after he kicked an injured owl that landed on the field during a game Sunday when his Colombian club Deportivo Pereira was playing Atletico Junior.

The owl is a mascot for Atletico Junior and was being treated Monday at a veterinary clinic in Barranquilla. The bird is expected to recover from a slight fracture of its right leg.

The owl had landed injured near the corner of the field when Moreno walked over and kicked it about three yards. Atletico Junior fans shouted "murder, murder."

Moreno said he did not know the bird was a good-luck charm for the other team.

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Comments

[Dvmx]

02:37 AM on 03/03/2011

Once again we learn that celebrity sportsters are often emotionally underdeveloped jerks.

[Betrayed]

09:59 PM on 03/02/2011

This kind of s hit makes me angry.

[humansareinsane]

06:04 PM on 03/02/2011

Day dream: Guy brakes one of his legs and gets kicked off the field by a 40 foot owl.

He, he, he.

[jJohnson1]

05:34 PM on 03/02/2011

This just reaffirms my believe that people in third world countries and poverty stricken areas where selfishness trumps education creates the most despicable people on the planet. next to republicans of course. Why is it that pretty much only the european and american and the austrailians are pretty much the only people that care about animal welfare and treatment?

[jeffbiss]

03:52 PM on 03/02/2011

"Moreno said he did not know the bird was a good-luck charm for the other team."

So, he's sorry because he didn't know the bird was a good-luck charm for the other team? Of course he doesn't care about the owl itself. Here's hoping this guy runs into other people who consider his worth the same as he considered the owl and suffers the consequences.

[filiusj]

03:52 PM on 03/02/2011

Can you spot the lower life form?

[HarukoHaruhara]

03:23 PM on 03/02/2011

I'm glad the owl is going to recover.

[HarukoHaruhara]

03:22 PM on 03/02/2011

That's disgusting. No excuse for that.

[Flor Arellano]

01:42 PM on 03/02/2011

This is completely unacceptable! How could he think that kicking a living, breathing thing off the field was a great idea? Absolutely despicable.

[thromulese]

01:29 PM on 03/02/2011

What a creepy thing to do.

He has a total lack of respect for other living beings.

[OkieIntellectual]

01:13 PM on 03/02/2011

I get where his mind was at the time. He was "in the game" as they say, completely focused on the competition and not really thinking about anything other than that. The owl was something that didn't belong on the field, so he sought to remove it so play could continue. I'm not condoning what he did in any way, just saying that I doubt he meant any malice. I doubt he even consciously realized what he was doing at the time, other than removing "something" from the field that didn't belong.

[DebbyM]

07:35 PM on 03/02/2011

Why are you making excuses for the looser? If he has so little brainpower that he can't see that it is an injured bird, than maybe he should be confined in a special hospital.

[OkieIntellectual]

06:21 AM on 03/03/2011

All I can say is if you've ever been a serious competitive athlete, you'd know what I'm getting at. It's hard to explain, losing yourself in a competition, all of your concentration and mental processing power focused on the game and nothing else. Kinda one of those things you have to experience.

[Jennifer Ames]

12:39 PM on 03/02/2011

I don't see how this player can kick something so beautiful as an owl. He knew what he was doing when he attacked this animal, and I'm hoping that they do set some kind of sanctions against him. You know what they say about people who kill animals...? Shame on you. jj

[kevman08]

12:12 PM on 03/02/2011

Hey, this animal is dying over here and ruining our soccer game, let's kick it!! wtf??

[shafff]

11:13 AM on 03/02/2011

WTF, he is an animal.

[media4me]

10:53 AM on 03/02/2011

Should have kicked it in the goal.