Fowl Play: Angry Rovers Fans Throw Hen On Pitch

Clucking mad Blackburn Rovers fans let loose a chicken on the pitch as their club dropped out of the Premier League with a 1-0 defeat to Wigan.

The hen, draped in the club's colours, was thrown on to the pitch at Ewood Park in an apparent protest aimed at the club's owners, Indian poultry processor Venky's.

Wigan goalkeeper Ali al Habsi and Rovers striker Yakubu quickly chased the bird down and captured her.

Protests against Venky's and manager Steve Kean rang around the ground throughout the game, as they have with regularity since the team narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last season.

Some fans threw away their shirts while others invaded the pitch at the end of the match and angrily confronted Kean.

It was not long before the chicken had its own Twitter account, alongside the Anfield cat who dashed across the pitch during Liverpool's match with Tottenham Hotpur in February.

An account purportedly written by @BigEwoodChicken posted: "Referee should've blown when Yakubu caught me. It was a blatant fowl in the box!"