“Unrestrained” and “Fearless”: Chinese Messi Fan’s Pitch Invasion Ignites Memes and Admiration
The Messi fan who stormed onto the field and embraced his idol has become famous overnight. Here are eight popular memes circulating around Chinese social media.
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
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
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
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.
1. “You’re chasing your idol” meme
“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.
2. “If we don’t catch him, we can keep on running” meme
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.”
3. “We’re all family” meme
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.
4. Dragged away like a pig meme
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.
5. Taobao sellers jump in on the hype
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.
6. A scientific approach
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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7. A new idol meme
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.
8. The ‘main character’ meme
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.”
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Zilan Qian is a China-born undergraduate student at Barnard College majoring in Anthropology. She is interested in exploring different cultural phenomena, loves people-watching, and likes loitering in supermarkets and museums.
After visiting Shanghai, Beijing, and the Shaolin Temple in Henan, popular American YouTuber IShowSpeed (Darren Watkins) livestreamed from Chengdu on March 31.
During his stream, he visited a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, tried acupuncture, had some extremely spicy hotpot, and continued doing the kinds of activities that have defined his China tour so far – from kung fu to the Forbidden City.
The trip has been a success not just for Watkins, who recently surpassed 37 million YouTube subscribers, but also for China’s image abroad. Some have even suggested it’s become more of a soft power or propaganda tour (read more in our latest newsletter).
But not everything has gone smoothly. Within the span of a week, Watkins has become significantly more famous in China. In addition to YouTube — which is not accessible in China — he also began streaming on Douyin. All of this made his March 31st livestream a bit more chaotic, and for the first time, he also experienced some connection issues.
In Chengdu, with as many as 4 million viewers watching the livestream on Douyin, one moment in particular sparked controversy online. Just before Watkins entered a car, a girl in cosplay attire approached him and said:
💬 “I am a racist. I am a ni**a killer. I am so sorry about that. But I love your girlfriend, because your girlfriend is my [white?] people.”
When Watkins asked if she spoke English, she replied:
💬 “Yes, I am a racist. I am racist.”
After the incident, Watkins commented:
💬 “I don’t think she understood what she was saying.”
The girl was cosplaying as one of the characters from the mobile role-playing game Blue Archive, most likely Saiba Momoi (才羽モモイ), known for her mouse-like appearance, complete with two ears on top of her head.
On Chinese social media platforms, including Weibo and Xiaohongshu, the moment soon became a point of discussion. Among the commenters, there are those fearing the incident will negatively impact the image of Chengdu, and some suggesting the local Tourism & Culture Board will make sure to blacklist the girl.
Others focused more on the background of the girl, suggesting she is from Japan or Hong Kong, and trying to sabotage Watkins’ positive China trip.
It appears, however, that the female cosplayer may have been referencing the “racist Momoi” or “Saiba Momoi Says The N-Word” meme.
This meme originates from an edited clip of Saiba Momoi, in which she appears to say what sounds like the N-word. According to the Danbooru site, the clip was later modified to include other slurs.
The character has also been linked to the “Nàge song.” As explained in our newsletter yesterday, the song “Sunshine, Rainbow, White Pony” (阳光彩虹小白马) by Chinese singer Wowkie Zhang (大张伟), which repeatedly features the Chinese word nàge in its chorus (meaning “uh” or “that”) — popped up multiple times during Watkins’ trip. The catchy tune essentially became the theme song of his visit.
A few years back, a clip of Watkins first hearing the song and mistaking the chorus for the N-word already went viral on Chinese social media. The confusion between the Chinese filler word and the slur has been extensively joked about by Watkins himself throughout his streams.
The connection between the girl, the Saiba Momoi meme, and the Nàge song, however, is only known to a niche audience. It is possible that the girl tried to be funny, but she obviously failed in doing so.
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Recently, Chinese netizens have started reaching out to Apple and its CEO Tim Cook in order to put pressure on a state-owned battery factory accused of violating labor laws.
The controversy involves the Huizhou factory of Desay Battery (德赛电池), known for producing lithium batteries for the high-end smartphone market, including Apple and Samsung. The factory caught netizens’ attention after a worker exposed in a video that his superiors were deducting three days of wages because he worked an 8-hour shift instead of the company’s “mandatory 10-hour on-duty.” Compulsory overtime violates China’s labor laws.
In response, the worker and other netizens started to let Apple know about the situation through email and social media, trying to put pressure on the factory by highlighting its position in the Apple supply chain. In at least one instance, Apple confirmed receipt of the complaint. (Meanwhile, on Tim Cook’s official Weibo account, the comment section underneath his most recent post is clearly being censored.)
Screenshot of replies on X underneath a post by Tim Cook on International Women’s Day.
The factory, however, has denied the allegations, , claiming that the video creator was spreading untruths and that they had reported him to authorities. His content has since also been removed. A staff member at Desay Battery maintained that they adhere to the 8-hour workday and appropriately compensate workers for overtime.
At the same time, Desay Battery issued an official statement, admitting to “management oversights regarding employee rights protection” (“保障员工权益的管理上存在疏漏”) and promising to do better in safeguarding employee rights.
One NetEase account (大风文字) suggested that for Chinese workers to effectively expose labor violations, reporting them to Western suppliers or EU regulators is an effective way to force domestic companies to respect labor laws.
Another commentary channel (上峰视点) was less optimistic about the effectiveness, arguing that companies like Apple would be quick to drop suppliers over product quality issues but more willing to turn a blind eye to labor violations—since cheap labor remains a key competitive advantage in Chinese manufacturing.
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What’s on Weibo is run by Manya Koetse (@manyapan), offering independent analysis of social trends in China for over a decade. Subscribe to gain access to all content and get the Weibo Watch newsletter.