FC Barcelona inadvertently found themselves at the center of Pakistani politics when their tiger emojis sparked a frenzy of humor and confusion. As the elections loom large, the PML-N seized the opportunity to ride the wave of laughter generated by Barcelona’s tweet.
The football giant innocently posted a series of tiger emojis, intended as a nod to their new striker, Vitor Roque, nicknamed “Tigrinho” or the ‘Little Tiger.’ However, the PML-N’s social media team pounced on this chance, promptly retweeting the post with the caption, “NAWAZ IS COMING! 🇵🇰🐅”
NAWAZ IS COMING! 🇵🇰🐅 https://t.co/550kJf8znq
— PMLN (@pmln_org) January 31, 2024
The internet erupted in laughter as netizens humorously interpreted the tiger emojis as a symbolic endorsement for Nawaz Sharif and his party. Memes and witty comments flooded the virtual space, with one user joking, “Barcelona bhi patwari nikla.”
The tweet went viral, leaving netizens in fits. People started sharing hilarious reactions to the tweet. One user wrote, “FC Barcelona has decided to support Nawaz Sharif and PML-N for #Elections2024
Nawaz Sharif loves you too! @FCBarcelona Barca for life now 🐅🐅🐅🐅🐅🐅 pic.twitter.com/FiZCy4dXZq
— Saad Kaiser 🇵🇰 (@TheSaadKaiser) January 31, 2024
In the spirit of political banter, a creative mind reimagined Barcelona’s star players with PML-N counterparts, birthing characters like Lionel Andres Sharif, Shehbaz Suarez, Maryam Putellas, Hamza Jr, Rana Xavi, Frankie De Tarar, Sergio Asif, Iniesta Iqbal, Parvez Piqué, Dar Stegen, Miftah Busquets, Khaqan Griezmann, and Khawaja Lewandowski.
Lionel Andres Sharif
Shehbaz Suarez
Maryam Putellas
Hamza Jr
Rana Xavi
Frankie De Tarar
Khawaja Lewandowski
Sergio Asif
Iniesta Iqbal
Parvez Piqué
Dar Stegen
Miftah Busquets
Khaqan Griezmann— Out of Context Pakistan (@Umairiology) January 31, 2024
Despite the mix-up, FC Barcelona’s innocent emojis inadvertently became the mascot for PML-N’s election hype. Whether intentional or not, the intersection of football fandom and political fervor showcased the unpredictable and humorous side of social media.
Regardless, that didn’t stop the polarizing PML-N and its social media team to capitalize on the opportunity to promote the party and hype it up for the upcoming election. We’ll have to give them credit for the “creativity.”
