HA HA LAND
Erling Haaland was compared to several pop culture figures following his outburst
ERLING HAALAND has been transformed into a meme by rival fans after a photo of his meltdown went viral.
The striker was apoplectic after referee Simon Hooper blew his whistle for a foul instead of allowing play to continue with Jack Grealish through on goal in the last minute against Tottenham.
The match ended 3-3 and an incensed Haaland remonstrated with the ref before taking to Twitter to question the decision.
Haaland went on social media immediately after the match to vent his frustrations but by that time he was already a meme.
A photo of his raging face quickly circulated as cheeky fans began to superimpose it over famous artwork and already existing memes.
One fan added Haalandโs face to Edvard Munchโs famous โThe Screamโ painting while another photoshopped his face into an infamous meme from reality TV show โThe Real Housewives of Beverly Hillsโ.
Another got into the Christmas mood by pasting Haalandโs face onto Kevin McCallisterโs from Home Alone, while another reimagined a famous internet meme from earlier this year of a woman who went viral for her loudmouth antics on board an American Airlines flight.
Haaland saw the funny side and responded to The Scream meme saying: โWtf that made me smile for the first time today.โ
Haaland, 23, could be hit with an FA charge following his conduct towards the referee.
The striker blew his top at Hooper and, before storming down the Etihad tunnel, he fired an F-word rant at Giovani Lo Celso after the Spurs scorer barged into him at full-time.
Haaland later posted a clip of the incident on Twitter, saying: โWTFโ, an abbreviation for โWhat the f***โ which could land him in hot water with the FA.
But Pep Guardiola, whose team conceded a 90th-minute leveller, bit his tongue and said: โNext question. I will not do a Mikel Arteta comment.
โOn the touchline sometimes I lose my mind and my gestures arenโt proper. But here normally for many years as a manager Iโm not a guy to comment.
โIt surprised me because when Erling went down, if you whistle in that moment itโs fine.
โBut he stands up and continues and the referee in that moment makes that gesture to โplay on, play onโ.
โAnd after Erling makes the pass he then stops the game.โ