The Ballon d'Or ceremony made its London debut in its 70-year history at the iconic London Palladium, but the night was far from plain sailing. Organisers faced a chaotic start when the event was delayed by 45 minutes due to London traffic and Oxford Street being made traffic-free, leaving significant numbers of guests stuck outside.
Once underway, the nearly two-and-a-half-hour show saw a rowdy audience disrupt proceedings. Hosts Kate Scott and Thierry Henry had to pause while people shouted player names, and booing erupted during commercial breaks. After Harry Kane and Alexia Putellas were crowned winners, only men were selected to ask Kane a question at his press conference, with several female journalists seemingly ignored. The Ballon d'Or team has since apologised.
Outside, hundreds gathered for the red carpet. Security barriers were scaled, broken and ripped down, with fans clashing with security and police. Hours before the ceremony, the official Ballon d'Or website prematurely published an article declaring Kane the men's winner, along with similar pieces about Kylian Mbappe and Putellas. A spokesperson said the articles were "inadvertently published online" and prepared for all nominees.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing