Super Bowl LVII: Rihanna appears to scratch her crotch & then sniff her fingers | OneFootball

Overnight, American Football once more took its yearly place at centre stage of the sporting world as the Kansas City Chiefs faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles in one of the all-time great Super Bowl contests.

Super Bowl LVII finished with the Chiefs, led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, winning the match by 38-35.

The game itself wasn’t without controversy, however, as some fans have accused the officials on the night of essentially choosing which team won.

There was further controversy too away from the match itself during the half-time show as Rihanna appeared to take a note out of former Germany football team manager Joachim Low's book in a bizarre scratch and sniff moment.

Rihanna scratches her crotch & sniffs during performance

The Germany manager was caught on camera on a couple of occasions during his career putting his hand in his trousers and then taking it out to sniff and Rihanna last night did much the same.

In what was generally a well-received performance, Rihanna made the stage her own as she worked her way through a list of her most iconic songs, including the likes of ‘Umbrella’, ‘Diamonds’ and ‘We Found Love’.

Performing in a striking red outfit that also revealed she was pregnant with her second child, Rihanna won acclaim from fans despite performing without any guests in what was her first live performance in five years.

Known for her gyrating and body-popping on stage, Rihanna perhaps took things a bit too far during her performance of ‘Rude Boy’ as she rubbed her crotch before proceeding to take a deep sniff.

It was an odd moment but one that fans were quick to comment on.

“So is it me or did Rihanna just grab her junk and then smell it and taste it?” one person tweeted.

Another was equally confused: “Did Rihanna just scratch her crotch then smell her fingers?”

Others were more hurt by the segment and took to Twitter to direct their anger at the pop star.

“Apparently I’m the only person on Twitter who thinks Rihanna’s half-time show was terrible. Why is she touching her crotch in a show kids are watching? And why are her backup dancers dressed like hazmat COVID freaks that do those gross brain swab tests?”

Despite this over-zealous moment, others were keen to show their appreciation of the performance.

"Now THAT was a half-time show!! DAMN.

"Everyone involved in the direction, choreography, staging, dancing, and construction deserves so much credit for that #SuperBowl HT show."

Despite this controversy, it seems Rihanna’s performance was a hit on a night full of spectacle and drama.