Fans shocked after Beyoncé pulled banned gesture during NFL halftime show that gets players fined

Beyonce has sparked a huge debate on social media for appearing to make a banned gesture during her half-time performance at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Beyonce, 43, is one of the most recognisable faces in the world of music. The mother of three had the honour of entertaining crowds in her hometown of Houston as the Texans took on the Baltimore Ravens in an intense game, with the away side winning 31-2.

And despite the entertaining on-pitch action, it was what the pop star did during her rendition of hit single Texas Hold ‘Em that captured fan's attention.

The 32-time Grammy-winning artist took to the field halfway through the game.

She performed several tracks off her latest album including “16 Carriages”, “Blackbird”, “Levii’s Jeans”, and “Texas Hold’Em”, while she welcomed the likes of Shaboozey and Post Malone to the stage with her daughter Blue Ivy among the dancers performing.

However, during Texas Hold ‘Em, Beyonce appeared to make an apparent gun gesture with two fingers.

The signal is banned by the National Football League (NFL), and if a player were to use it, it would result in a 15-yard penalty for the offender.

Unilad also reports that fines can be hefty for such an offence, with the New York Jets receiver Allen Lazard being slapped with $14,069 fine in October.

Beyonce caused controversy during her half-time performance (Credit:Getty)

Fans on social media could not help but weigh in with their thoughts.

One said: "Flagging players for any type of gun related celebrations, and then having Beyoncé shoot a fake gun and release and giant banner that says “BANG.”

A second added: "Did you see Beyonce at the end of her performance yesterday, as she formed a gun with her fingers. The NFL didn't seem to get all up in arms about that."

A third commented: "I enjoyed this performance but I thought it was funny that Beyoncé was heavy with the finger guns and nfl doesn’t allow players to do finger gun celebrations."

While a fourth explained: "So Beyonce can do finger gun gestures during a half time show in the NFL, but if players do that they get fined, and penalised. Double standard?"

With a fifth saying: "You can't get away with just doing anything like that gun finger, I hope you get a big big fine. Even though it won't hurt you, but it still needs to be done."