Skip To Content

Advertisement

BuzzFeed News

People Are Loving This Photo Of Colombian And Mexican Soccer Fans Lifting An Egyptian Fan At The World Cup

"And people say football is just a game."

This is Hassan Sedky, a 25-year-old master's student from Egypt currently studying at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Hassan Sedky

Sedky told BuzzFeed News that he and his friend were at FIFA Fan Fest in Moscow, Russia, for the opening ceremony of the World Cup on Thursday and celebrating with other fans when he suddenly found himself up in the air waving the Egyptian flag.

facebook.com

Sedky said that he didn't know any of the other fans around him and they were cheering for one another's teams when he suddenly found himself in the air after chanting "Vamos Egypto!" a few times after the match between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

"I think that was when the photo was taken," he said, adding that he had no idea because "at that moment, I felt I was on top of the world."

"I saw fans taking pictures, and I think I popped up on the big screen once, but that was it," he said.

The photo was shared by the Desmotivaciones Futbol Facebook page and immediately went viral, being shared more than 37,000 times.

Facebook: desmotivacionesfutbolroaz

It quickly spread to Reddit, where it was shared in multiple subreddits, with one post reaching the top of Reddit.

reddit.com

Advertisement

Twitter user @Deadpoolquito69 tweeted the photo around the same time, telling BuzzFeed News that he had been sent the photo from a friend.

@Deadpoolquito69's tweet was retweeted more than 1,800 times and then multiple tweets with the photo also started going viral.

Advertisement

People were really moved by the picture.

Twitter: @VarunVegad11

Advertisement

Twitter: @VickTee420

Advertisement

They felt that it showed soccer was so much more than just a game.

Twitter: @Tom_Moule95

Advertisement

And that it beautifully captured the spirit of the World Cup.

Twitter: @stubsy9

Advertisement

Sedky said he had no idea that the photo was going viral until someone tagged him in the photo on Facebook a day later.

"Since then, it's been everywhere," he said. "I didn't expect any of it."

Sedky said that the World Cup has been "an amazing experience" so far, with "people from different races, cultures and countries all coming together for one purpose."

"I don't think I've spent an hour yet where random strangers haven't offered me help," Sedky said.

Sedky was involved in a car accident that shattered his spine when he was 18, but has since started a foundation for the differently abled.

"It's an incredible feeling to know that I'm sending a message to the whole world and maybe potentially changing the perspective of other people," Sedky said.

Advertisement

Comments
Unable to load comments. Try reloading this page or viewing the full site. Pop out
Show more Expand