Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Womens Football, Womens World Cup, Switzerland, Aston Villa
Josh Lawless
Topics: Womens Football, Womens World Cup, Switzerland, Aston Villa
Female footballer Alisha Lehmann is one of the most famous players in the world with a whopping 16.7 million followers on Instagram and lucrative brand deals with PRIME, EA Sports FC and Boomerang Bet.
The former Aston Villa and West Ham star's fandom is global but it came to extreme and unusual heights at the Women's World Cup two years ago.
Lehmann, who moved to Juventus in 2024, turned out for Switzerland in a draw with host country New Zealand at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, with a capacity of 25,947.
And one supporter was there to see the 26-year-old, who is rumoured to make a fortune for sponsored Instagram posts as well as her football salary.
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In recent years, a regular feature games all over the world has been fans bringing signs into the ground requesting for player autographs or shirts.
But this particular request to Lehmann caused a stir amongst viewers, who deemed it "creepy" and inappropriate.
When Lehmann entered the fray as a substitute in the second half, TV cameras panned to the crowd where one fan held up a sign which read, "Alisha Lehmann sign my belly so I can be seen on telley".
One fan on X did not hold back and wrote: "Media/Broadcasters: Please don't show creepy dudes with signs asking for Alisha Lehmann to 'please sign their belly so they can be seen on telly'. They are weird perverts and would think we're better than to promote them."
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A second simply stated: "Alisha Lehmann, sign my belly so I can be on telly' is wild."
Fresh from winning the double in her first season with Juventus, Lehmann is competing in another prestigious international tournament - with Switzerland hosting the Women's Euros this summer.
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Pia Sundhage's side kick off the campaign with a game against Norway at St Jakob Park in Basel on Wednesday night but preparation was less than ideal after they hit headlines before the tournament for losing 7-1 to a junior club team in a friendly.
Footage of the behind-closed-doors warm-up fixture, which was played over three sections of 30 minutes, was shared on TikTok and garnered reaction aplenty.
In response, Swiss FA spokespeople and members of the squad attempted to play down the result - while Lehmann also offered a brief comment on the outcome .
"As a team, we ignore that and concentrate on what we can influence," she said, as per Goal.
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"Today, we don't have the time to analyze scientific studies."
Switzerland will also take on Iceland and Finland in Group A, with England the holders after going all the way with a historic triumph on home soil last time out.