Australian Prime Minister Completely Flattens Kid While Playing Football

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison was caught on camera accidentally flattening a child while playing football on his campaign trail.

Morrison was invited to join in the under-eights football match at Devonport Strikers Soccer Club in Tasmania today (18 May), as he seeks to become the first person to be re-elected since 2004 in the general election on 21 May.

The prime minister did not hesitate to get involved and ran onto the pitch in his shirt and tie, but appeared to get a bit too caught up in the action and ended up charging into an unsuspecting young player identified by the name Luca.

Seeing the leader of a country take out a young child doesn't paint them in the best light, but it's worth watching nonetheless:

With his eyes on the ball, Morrison appeared ready to dash around some of the young players to get a chance at gaining control of the football. In his determination it seems he failed to spot Luca, who was on the outer edge of the group, and as he went to change direction he ended up careering straight into the young boy, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him.

Morrison quickly rolled off the child while wrapping his arms around him in an awkward hug before letting him free, after which a teammate came over to pull the child up from the floor.

Luca’s coach, Keegan Smith, told Guardian Australia the young boy 'jumped up with a big smile and kept playing' after the incident.

Alamy

Speaking in the clubhouse after the match, Morrison quipped: "Where’s Luca? Please tell me he hasn’t gone off to the hospital.”

Social media users were naturally amused at the scene, with one tweet joking: "Scott Morrison finally tackles something head on," while another reads: "Great to see @ScottMorrisonMP having a go at playing football! But did he realize that they were playing European football and not rugby football?"

In spite of his accidental collision, Morrison told the players and parents at the club he looked forward to 'coming back on another occasion', adding: "I think that when that grandstand comes down, I hear it might need a bit of a bulldozer to knock it down, so I might be able to help with that."

Morrison visited the club in Braddon to discuss a $3.5m grant for its Valley Road grounds, including a new grandstand.

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