On June 15th, a young Chinese fan of the immensely popular Argentine professional footballer Lionel Messi made his way into the friendly Argentina vs. Australia match held at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium.

The match and Messi’s arrival were much-anticipated in China, where the football star is incredibly popular.

After the sudden pitch invasion, the fan proceeded to embrace Messi, exchanged handshakes with footballer Marcos Javier Acuña, and shared a high-five with Lisandro Martínez before security intervened and brought him down.

The incident quickly spread like wildfire across Chinese social media, generating memes that playfully mocked both the fan and the guards at Workers’ Stadium. Although he was later apprehended, the fan garnered admiration from netizens for his “courageous act.” While the Messi fan is praised for being “unrestrained” and “fearless,” various gifs of the moment went trending.

The Messi fan who stormed onto the field and embraced his idol during the Beijing Argentina vs. Australia friendly has become famous overnight. The 18-year-old fan jumped from the spectator stand.. pic.twitter.com/7t6YK8ES1d

— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) June 17, 2023

Video footage showed how the fan jumped from the spectator stand, which was approximately 3 meters high, and then swiftly made his way onto the field.

He embraced Messi, who, initially taken aback, soon extended his arms and reciprocated the hug. pic.twitter.com/QDUylnPLts

— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) June 17, 2023

He embraced Messi, who, initially taken aback, soon extended his arms and reciprocated the hug.

While 3 security guards chased him, the young man fan managed to elude their grasp with remarkable agility and exchange high-fives with Acuña and Martinez. pic.twitter.com/jyzLkgG9N5

— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) June 17, 2023

Viral footage shows how three security guards chased the young man. However, with remarkable agility, the fan managed to elude their grasp. Along the way, he seized the opportunity to shake hands and exchange high-fives with Argentina’s player Acuña and goalkeeper Martinez.

He still ran for dozens of meters before being carried out of the stadium by multiple security guards. pic.twitter.com/FcfGtUyCpY

— What's on Weibo (@WhatsOnWeibo) June 17, 2023

After a sprint spanning several dozen meters, multiple security guards eventually intercepted and escorted him out of the stadium. This unexpected field invasion led to a game interruption that lasted for over a minute.

In an official statement by the Chaoyang Public Security Bureau, the man was identified as the 18-year-old Mr. Di (邸) who had jumped on the field to “hug his favorite player.” He was placed in “administrative detention” (行政拘留) and was ordered not to enter the stadium again for a period of 12 months (#冲进球场抱梅西男子被行拘#).

Despite Mr. Di’s (temporary) detainment, his actions have ignited a sense of thrill among netizens. While some express concerns about his breach of public order and the law, the majority celebrate his defiance, bravery, and youthful spirit. Numerous netizens have even dubbed him the “life winner” (“人生赢家”), congratulating him and expressing envy for seizing such a precious moment that can be cherished for a lifetime. “He’s incredibly cool and courageous!” a typical comment said.

Meanwhile, memes swiftly emerged in response to this bold moment. Netizens took the opportunity to not only jest about Di but also the security guards. Despite having seven to eight colleagues chasing after Di on the field, they were unable to apprehend him before he accomplished virtually everything he set out to do.

We will list some of the most popular memes related to the incident here.

“The most amusing part was observing the trio of men in pursuit of Di. It almost seemed like they were playing a part rather than genuinely trying to catch him,” commented a Weibo user, suggesting that the security guards intentionally failed to apprehend Di.

Netizens humorously pointed out instances where the security guards appeared distracted during the chase. One guard, who turned his head to gaze at Messi while running, received comments from netizens such as, “No wonder you couldn’t catch Di, you were busy chasing your idols instead.”

“No wonder you can’t chase him, you’re chasing your idol instead” meme shared by Weibo user @你的小鱼干爸爸.

The remaining two guards, who wore constant smiles during the pursuit, were observed as if they were putting on a show rather than earnestly attempting to capture Di.

There were even speculations that the security guards intentionally held back their full efforts due to their own fandom for Messi, hoping to prolong their proximity to their idol for as long as possible.

One Weibo user (@你的小鱼干爸爸) created yet another humorous meme about two security guards purposely refraining from apprehending Di. The comments attributed to the guards read, “If we don’t catch him, we can keep running,” and “Do you think the three of us are good actors?” Mr. Di’s response in the meme is, “You two stick by my side. I’ll lend you a hand in flying.”

Another popular meme showed a security guard at the stadium, wearing Messi’s blue-and-white soccer shirt underneath his uniform.

The comment reads “we are all family,” implying that the security guards are also big fans of Messi, like Mr. Di.

Netizens made fun of the moment Di was carried away – a big smile on his face – by comparing it to the image of a pig being dragged by multiple people.

Meanwhile, e-commerce platforms are also capitalizing on this trending topic. The shoes worn by Di, a pair of Yonex badminton shoes, have garnered significant attention. On Taobao, the product has been cleverly marketed as “Messi fan’s signature style” badminton shoes, featuring background images of Di embracing Messi.

Some science-related WeChat accounts are also using this incident to educate people on proper exercise. The public health account Dingxiang Doctor (丁香医生) released an article titled “A Fan Rushes onto the Field to Embrace Messi: Regretting the Lack of Warm-up (Let Us Teach You)” to underscore the importance of warming up before physical activity.

Likewise, the popular science blogger Bi Dao (毕导) published an article exploring Di’s average running speed throughout the entire incident and arrived at an average of 6.4 meters per second.

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Another meme that is making its rounds on Chinese social media is a photoshopped image of Messi holding an image of him and Di’s unexpected meeting on the field. As Di has become so famous overnight, he has practically become an idol himself.

Numerous Chinese social media users perceive the young man as a symbol of freedom and defiance, sentiments that have been suppressed by the burdensome work culture, economic crisis, COVID-19 restrictions, and political censorship. In response, certain memes depict Di as the protagonist of his own heroic film.

“We yearn for a moment of rule-breaking and liberation from the pressures to wholeheartedly enjoy ourselves,” expressed a widely shared commentary on WeChat. “This young man has fulfilled that desire on our behalf.”

By Zilan Qian, with contributions by Manya Koetse

Image: illustration used shared on Weibo by user @中国刘杰, signed by “D.S.X”

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