Poke A Man
Vasco da Gama star Yago Pikachu lashes out and punches fan at airport
Incident was reminiscent of Neymar who lashed out at a Rennes fan after PSG's shock defeat
A PLAYER in Brazil has come under fire for launching a punch at a supporter in an airport scuffle.
Vasco da Gama star Yago Pikachu completely lost his cool after his team touched down in Manaus ahead of their clash with Corinthians.
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The incident was reminiscent of Neymar who lashed out at a Rennes fan after Paris Saint-Germain's shock French Cup final defeat last month.
Around 300 people turned up to welcome Vasco at the airport when things started to get heated.
It is unclear what sparked the punch but footage showed the excited fan base desperate to take selfies with Pikachu.
A bag is then thrown towards him before Pikachu flips.
He immediately lashes out at somebody in the crowd with his right arm before quickly making tracks.
Pikachu did release a statement apologising and shared his "regret" for his actions.
He said: "While we took photos with fans, including a child on his mother's lap, a person began throwing objects towards us. They hit me and they could have hit the kid too.
"This aggression also reached the police and even in the videos you can see people behind me asking them to stop throwing such objects.
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"I make it very clear that I would rather not have had that reaction. I make it even clearer that I regret it.
"However, I would like to explain to the immense Basque crowd that my act was a reaction to something I did not expect, especially because I had a child next to me who might have been hit.
"I have never had problems like this in my life, and everyone who knows me knows this and my nature.
"I'm very sorry for the images and I apologise to the fans for the bad impression that was caused. Very much. But this is my explanation for what happened. Sincere and true. "
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Neymar lashed out at the Stade de France following Saturday's French Cup final loss with PSG