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Photographer Gets Yanked by Security at the Ballon d’Or Award

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Matt Growcoot

A reporter holding a DAZN microphone reaches out to adjust the tie of a man holding a camera on a red carpet.

A photographer went viral after he was unceremoniously grabbed by security during a live TV broadcast of the Ballon d’Or.

The unscripted incident went out live on DAZN, with microphones picking up the photographer — who PetaPixel can identify as Bilal Zagaoui — telling the zealous security guard to “stop grabbing me.”

The security guard ripped off Zagaoui’s lanyard in the melee. Despite initially being annoyed by the heavy-handed security tactics, he later joked about it on social media.


Zagaoui had an array of cameras with him for the Ballon d’Or — an award that recognizes the best soccer player in the world — including a Polaroid 195 Land Camera with which he was shooting FP100C instant color film. He used the setup to capture a portrait of this year’s recipient of the coveted Ballon d’Or, Harry Kane.


The security guard’s shoving wasn’t Zagaoui’s only drama of the night. In an Instagram Story, the photographer said his bag full of Polaroids was stolen at the London event. The only photo he managed to save was a portrait of Ballon d’Or winner Harry Kane, who he had put in his pocket.

Glitzy events like the Ballon d’Or can see photographers clashing with security and personnel. Just last month, Chinese photographers clashed with their American counterparts outside the White House while waiting for President Trump and President Xi.

Last year, Denzel Washington got into a heated exchange with a photographer on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival.

Image creditsDAZN

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