Portuguese footballing great Cristiano Ronaldo has joined the controversy surrounding the controversial Rafale episode suddenly, after a video was shared on social media where he can be seen imitating Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf’s gesture, which ridiculed India’s fighter jet failure.
Pakistan Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi posted the video on his personal X account late Wednesday, soon triggering a storm on social media. The viral clip depicts Ronaldo replicating Rauf’s famous hand gesture — mimicking a fighter plane crash.
The gesture was traced back to the Asia Cup match between Pakistan and India last month. During the thriller game, Rauf reacted to jeers by Indian supporters by theatrically swooshing his hand like an airplane before letting it crash to the ground, in what appeared to be a reference to India’s Rafale fighter jet program. The gesture gained extensive coverage, with Pakistani fans praising it as clever and Indian supporters labeling it insulting.
Ronaldo’s re-enactment of the move has placed a further twist on the controversy. While it is uncertain whether the footballer’s clip was shot in recent times or forms part of a light-hearted video reused online, the timing has fueled the current debate.
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Sharing the video, Naqvi effectively validated it. “Even global icons can’t resist referencing the Rafale saga,” his message was, along with the Ronaldo clip. The upload by the minister was widely shared and amassed thousands of responses in hours.
Social media users in Pakistan overwhelmed timelines with congratulatory memes, thanking Ronaldo for “joining the banter.” Indian commentators, however, condemned the sharing of the clip, with some saying international sports stars should be kept out of such politically charged controversies, lest they be stirred further.
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Although Ronaldo himself has not said anything publicly, the viral nature of the video itself points to the manner in which sporting rivalries between India and Pakistan tend to spill over into wider cultural and political arenas. For some, the gesture itself embodies the over-the-top symbolism surrounding the Rafale fighter jets, which India purchased under a high-profile defense agreement with France.
This is not the first instance of cricket-inspired theatrics entering global pop culture across boundaries. Examples of sportspersons and celebrities invoking South Asian sporting rivalries have become a regular feature of going viral online. But Ronaldo’s reputation as one of the world’s most widely recognized footballers has made this clip unusually influential.
Analysts posit that the incident is an indication of both the extent of Pakistan-India sports narratives and the viral dynamics of social media, where a couple of seconds of imitation can trigger heated discussions on two continents.
Whether meant as humor or commentary, Ronaldo’s imitation of Rauf’s Rafale gesture is now irretrievably part of the unfolding narrative — one that connects sport, politics, and stardom in the digital age.
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