A random guy just made a video with Sarfaraz Ahmed in which he fat-shamed the skipper, saying he’s fat like a pig.
Not only is the World Cup monumental, but Pakistan vs India matches are also always a huge deal for both the nations. Pakistanis were hoping for a win but couldn’t get one. The captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, was heavily blamed for the loss on social media and on TV. All of that made sense until people started blaming his fitness for the loss and resorted to what was considered to be fat-shaming by many.
The skipper, Sarfaraz, was ridiculed for his fitness during the match and afterward as well. Pakistani old timer, Shoaib Akhtar, commented on Sarfaraz’s physical fitness by saying “Itna bara pait hai Sarfraz ka itna bara munh hai uska pehla Pakistani captain dekha hai itna unfit“.
People were relentless in unleashing their anger at Sarfaraz’s fitness after the stunning defeat to India
Memes were made. Exhibit A:
You VS the Guy she tells you not to worry about 😂😁#Sarfaraz pic.twitter.com/izG79TNLD1
— Umar 🇵🇰 (@TheUmarHussain) June 17, 2019
As if this wasn’t bad enough, a video just surfaced on the internet in which a dude fat-shamed Sarfaraz in public.
I’m gonna give you a second to comprehend his words. Done? Okay, let’s break it down:
The video opens with a dude asking the skipper “…aap suar jaisay motay kyon hoay ho?” Rough translation: Why have you become as fat as a pig?
A shameful act by a Pakistani fan with captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, this is how we treat our National Heros. Highly condemnable!! 😡 pic.twitter.com/WzAj0RaFI7
— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) June 21, 2019
Sarfaraz can be seen hanging out with his child when this guy approaches him and asks him why he has become fat like a pig. I don’t think I have to point out how wrong this is. HIS CHILD IS WITH HIM. And even if he wasn’t, it is NOT okay to directly attack someone like this. He is clearly not on the pitch or representing the team when he’s out with his family, let him be. Not to mention, this is blatant body-shaming. To top it off, he advises Sarfaraz to go on a diet.
I mean…really? Our cricket fans expect our players to be mature on the field and off the field yet their own actions are like this. I really hope you see the hypocrisy here. I can understand that you, as a fan, would want your team to be in the best physical shape possible. But that does not mean that you get to ridicule them when they’re off their job, especially if they’re with their family in a public space. Even the evil smile on the guy’s face is disgusting.
Desi Twitter took this shit to heart and went haywire.
Shameful behaviour. The perpetrator of harassment must be exposed pic.twitter.com/kIy6VVnbfE
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) June 21, 2019
Calling someone out like this in front of their child is disgusting and just plain wrong.
This is literally heart breaking. Everyone goes through bad phases but let's not forget sarfaraz is leading pak's national. Calling Sarfaraz Pig in front of his son is such a shameful act.I hope he gets punished for it. I big salute to sarfaraz the way he ignored this shit man. pic.twitter.com/IxwVOuQqJg
— Asad. 🇵🇰 (@GoStudyAsad) June 21, 2019
This is just shameful. You may hate your national team captain's current form but harassing him with his family using this language reflects detoriated state of mind and disastrous family upbringing. Shame this scoundrel! https://t.co/j1LlzhsRlE
— Jibran T. Siddiqui (@jibransiddiqui) June 21, 2019
And then comparing him to a pig? Awful.
This is extremely disgusting behavior from the fans. Sarfaraz was out with his son and this guy stopped him for a selfie but was actually recording a video.
He compared our captain with a Pi*, how shameful. Very sensible from Sarfaraz to ignore him while he was with his family. pic.twitter.com/BlrTuFvfUB
— Cricerz Fantasy (@CricerzFantasy) June 21, 2019
This is reprehensible. The man not only harasses Sarfaraz but asks him: "Why have you become so fat, like a pig?"
So, so disgusting! https://t.co/fXvdN5Lbjr
— हसीम • Haseem • حسیم 🏳️🌈 (@haseemuzzaman) June 21, 2019
People commended Sarfaraz for keeping his cool.
The way Sarfraz Ahmed kept his cool over being called pig in front of his son is just amazing. However, I personally think that he should have kicked his ass in the public. How low we can stoop just in the name of patriotism and cricket?
Shameful and Disgusting pic.twitter.com/c27fKn8ZHR— Adil (@IAmAdilMughal) June 21, 2019
A #Shameful act by a Pakistani 🇵🇰 fan with captain Pakistan Cricket 🏏 team Sarfaraz. Hats Off to sarfaraz for keeping his cool #Respect pic.twitter.com/anBTumo5vl
— Zaid Asif (@thezaidasif) June 21, 2019
People also discussed the double-standard that was being practiced here. They compared how Sarfaraz was treated after the Champions Trophy victory to this.
And when journalist asked Sarfaraz what will he do if Pakistani fans booes a player, he replied that Pakistani fans love and support players.
And in return, this is what a fan said him in front of his kid. What a shameful act from the guy who himself hasn't achieved anything.
— Saad 🇵🇰 (@iSaadAwais22) June 21, 2019
Now this is disgraceful! Two years back you were celebrating and dancing on the roads because of them #ct17 and today you are treating them like this. You may comment on their performance and fitness but this is not the way! #CWC19 #PAKvSA #WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/8Ney8VSlSU
— Faizan Najeeb Danawala (@danawalafaizan) June 21, 2019
Finally, we had an interesting take on the situation as well.
what i love is how many of the same people who were saying much worse than this, then fighting for their right to do so because the TeAm iS UnFiT, is now showing faux outrage over this. you normalised this behaviour, have the decency to self reflect. fucking frauds
— Mehar Khursheed (@curlistani) June 21, 2019
This brings up an interesting debate as well; is it ever justified to body-shame a sportsperson?
There are two “schools of thought” here. One believes that it is not okay and no one should be fat-shamed. The other school of thought believes that becoming a sportsperson means you agree to give your physical fitness your time and effort and an unfit person is only harming the team. Which one is right and which one is wrong is and will always be a personal opinion. I side with the latter – I believe that the players should be physically fit. However, there’s a difference between criticism and disrespect and it’s high time we learned that.
In light of the backlash, however, some developments took place. #WeStandWithSarfaraz actually started trending and people came out in support.
Sarfaraz was also trending, and people spoke up further about how our culture encourages us to make fun of our players – to the point when things get out of hand, it’s too late. This incident is a reminder of the same. Since we normalized and fed into the notion that our team has to be ridiculed, one guy with a camera took it a bit too far.
Given the situation, though, the dude who fat-shamed Sarfaraz also released an apology.
A guy who abused sarfaraz ahmed apologising from sarfaraz and whole nation 🤗 @SarfarazA_54@qutaiba_mehmood@WaseemBadami#weStandwithSarfaraz pic.twitter.com/jd9eQSGwqw
— Muhammad Azhar (@Muhamma36770323) June 21, 2019
He talks about how he’s seen his video circulating and he’s extremely apologetic for his actions. His first apology is directed to those offended by the video. He states that he hadn’t uploaded the video and had, in fact, deleted it when Sarfaraz got angry there and then. He claims to have apologized to Sarfaraz in person as well, right after the skipper confronted him for saying what he had. Furthermore, he states he has no idea how the now-viral video was uploaded and that he was unaware of the consequences. He also claims he did not know that the child in the video was Sarfaraz’s.
However, people still don’t seem too convinced.
The boy who abuses Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, now apologising in this video. Good thing he accept his mistake but his act was disgraceful and criminal.#SarfarazAhmed pic.twitter.com/I5dkZXLx2b
— Ahmer Najeeb (@AhmerNajeeb) June 21, 2019
They believe he’s apologizing due to the backlash and not due to his actions.
This apology is utterly useless and meaningless. He is clearly upset because of the backlash he has received and shows no remorse for his disgusting actions. “Mujhe nahi pata tha wo Hafiz-e-Quran tha.” Ok then. #WeStandWithSarfaraz https://t.co/99dLJTPe1a
— Sukaina Ali (@sukaina_ali) June 21, 2019
I mean, his first apology was directed to everyone else, instead of Sarfaraz.
Some people think he’s twisting facts to seem more innocent.
Here is his apology! Still he is trying to twist the facts but Chalo maafi to mangi.#SarfrazAhmed #CWC19 #Pakistan #sorrysarfaraz #sorrysarfraz pic.twitter.com/xVWcqY11Ul
— Zeeshan Ahmed (@mrsportsjourno) June 21, 2019
Basically, no one’s buying it.
if u had little ethics indside that video shudnt have been viral… Shut ur lame excuse!😡#weStandwithSarfaraz #PakistanLovesSarfaraz https://t.co/6doAclcj2V
— majid Allah Bandah (@majid_bandah87) June 21, 2019
What’s your take on this? Do you think the apology is sincere? Let me know in the comments below.
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Cover image via: @semperfiutd via Twitter / indiatimes.com