Footage of Vladimir Putin's fall during last night's game immediately went viral among virtually all major print and online media outlets in the US, the UK and Canada, with everyone from the highbrow New York Times and The Guardian to the lowbrow British tabloid media and even TMZ coming up with an endless series of flippant jokes about Putin's "humiliating" "faceplant" at the close of the match.
Putin, incidentally, who only took up hockey before his 60th birthday, quickly picked himself up off the mat he accidentally tripped on and continued skating, tapping the glass along the boards, smiling and waving. The 66-year-old scored eight goals during the match, helping lead his team to a 14-7 victory.
The Western media's facetiousness about the incident didn't go unnoticed among readers, with social media users on both sides of the Atlantic bashing the coverage and cracking jokes of their own at the outlets' expense.
The little joys of the british “journalists”.
— Tanka (@tannkka) 11 мая 2019 г.
Right up there with Justin's boxing match, or run by the lake, or prom selfie, or India dress up, or… well you get the picture.
— @peckerwood (@peckerwood1012) 11 мая 2019 г.
So what!? You never fell before? On ice even?
— k (@kathysmith2k7) 10 мая 2019 г.
More propaganda for Americans' public opinion. Whatever happened to Glasnost?
— Black Voices Muted (@dog884) 11 мая 2019 г.
This is not news. Come on.
— Veronique Roussel (@mmestorey) 11 мая 2019 г.
He’s on ice, he fell over, he’s human. So what?
— 🏁Mohammed Is A Rangel Ranger🏴 (@Rs_So_Hounslow) 11 мая 2019 г.
Of course, the haters came out in force as well, cracking 'in Soviet Russia' jokes, mocking Putin's skating skills, or saying they were now worried about the fate of the carpet he tripped on.
Ice maintenance crew sent to Gulag.
— RockFace (@SoldierInWhite1) 11 мая 2019 г.
Is that what is meant by the “fall of communism “
— Frank B Kessler (@FrankBKessler1) 11 мая 2019 г.
In Russia, the carpet skates you…
— The Dude (@TheSKDude) 11 мая 2019 г.
he looked ahead then fell on the carpet.
— AT3chnicality 🇵🇷 ♠ (@PrinceM0n0) 11 мая 2019 г.
He's a great skater blyat! pic.twitter.com/XUyAV60WzQ
Only a few users seemed able to find anything resembling a balanced middle ground.
No, this is not news.
— PMCinTX (@PMCinTN) 11 мая 2019 г.
Yes, it is a cheap shot.
Yes, I still enjoyed it.
