A cameraman is receiving criticism after he injured a South African rugby player during a game last weekend.

The camera operator was covering a South Africa versus Barbarian rugby game on Saturday at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium when he ran onto the field straight after a kick.

The kicker, South African Cheslin Kolbe, struck the ball, watched it sail between the posts, before running head-first into the cameraman and his large equipment after he had unwisely stepped onto the field.

The collision caused a cut to Kolbe’s eye, who had to receive treatment, and afterward asked for his scrum cap, which is padded headwear designed to prevent cuts and abrasions.

Enthusiasm or Stupidity?

Rugby 365 reports that not only was the cameraman running into the game with camera gear a bad idea, but it’s only in contravention of the laws of World Rugby.

“Whether he was overenthusiastic or it was just plain stupidity is not certain, but running up to a player on the playing field with a solid metal frame is certainly not a good idea,” Jan de Koning writes for Rugby 365.

“What is more concerning is that the cameraman did not even stop to check on the damage he caused.”

Judging from the footage, it appears as though the camera operator wanted to follow up on the ball sailing through the posts. However, stepping onto a live field is a huge no-no for photographers and camera operators covering live sports. The players are simply not expecting anyone other than their opponents and teammates to be present.

And the laws of World Rugby dictate as much: “No local or international television crew or field-side cameraman is legally permitted to step onto the grass pitch while the ball is live,” reads the rules shared by Rugby 365. “Broadcast camera operators must remain inside their designated pitch-side media boxes behind the digital advertising boards.”

A rugby cameraman on Reddit says he “has no idea” why the camera operator stepped on the field. “Frankly, I’m astonished that the cameraman didn’t care, or at least it seems so,” he adds.

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