Federal Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi shared a slow-motion video of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), in which Ronaldo makes a hand gesture imitating an aircraft crash. The gesture was strikingly similar to the one Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf used during the Asia Cup in response to taunts from Indian fans.
Ronaldo’s video quickly went viral in the context of the Rafale jet crash. Pakistani social media users celebrated it with enthusiasm, while Indian media and fans labeled it as “trolling.”
It is worth recalling that Haris Rauf’s gesture had previously sparked outrage in India, with the BCCI even filing a complaint with the ICC. Ronaldo’s gesture is now being referred to as a “Rafale reminder,” prompting witty and humorous reactions online.
The episode highlights once again that the Pakistan-India rivalry extends beyond the playing field, and now global icons like Cristiano Ronaldo have inadvertently become part of it.
