Mexico fans take cardboard cut-out of their friend to the World Cup - after his wife banned him from going
Mexican fans heading to the World Cup in Russia brought a cardboard cut-out of their friend with them after his wife banned him from attending the tournament.
The group of fans travelled from Mexico to Russia in a minivan and took the replica of their friend, named Javier, with them for the entire journey.
Since arriving in Russia, the cardboard Javier has become a social media sensation with many fans posting photos of themselves with the figure.
Some posted photos of themselves feeding cardboard Javier a beer while video footage showed Javier poking out the window of the mini bus as people waved.
#IngueSuMatrushka por las calles de Moscú #Rusia2018 pic.twitter.com/LXbWRbsFmy
— Eugenia Károlyi (@EuKarolyi) June 19, 2018
A tweet posted by the Russian Embassy described Javier’s friends as the “real heroes” of the World Cup.
It read: “Fans can be real heroes at #WorldCup, too! These 4 Mexicans came to Russia by minibus (yes, from Mexico to Russia) and brought a cardboard figure of their friend whose wife didn’t let him go.
Fans can be real heroes at #WorldCup, too! These 4 Mexicans came to Russia by minibus (yes, from 🇲🇽 to 🇷🇺!) and brought a cardboard figure of their friend whose wife didn’t let him go. Now Cardboard Javier is a worldwide social media star! #IngueSuMatrushka pic.twitter.com/5HR0WChJpX
— Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) June 19, 2018
“Now Cardboard Javier is a worldwide social media star!”
The shock win lead to huge celebrations from Mexican fans in Russia.