Wrexham Football Club's return to prominence following the arrival of Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney reached a milestone on Sunday afternoon when they were featured live on BBC One when the Welsh club faced Championship side Sheffield United in the FA Cup fourth round.
However, viewers at home were briefly distracted from the action on the pitch at the Racecourse Ground thanks to a fans cheeky message about the government on a classic foil FA Cup sign.
During the first half with the team trailing 1-0 to the Blades, the cameras cut to supporters in the stands but perhaps didn't notice that one of them was holding up a sign reading 'f**k the Tories.'
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
While the BBC undoubtedly didn't mean to broadcast such a blunt political message, the damage had already been done and the image was soon being posted around Twitter, much to people's amusement.
\u201cAnyone else catch Fuck the Tories in the Wrexham game? \ud83d\ude02\u201d— Tango Oscar Mike (@Tango Oscar Mike) 1675011755
\u201cAbsolutely lovely to see not only a tin foil cup from a Wrexham fan, but one that said FUCK THE TORIES on it.\n#WxmAFC\u201d— Kate Holmes (@Kate Holmes) 1675011750
\u201cIf you're the Wrexham fan who held up that trophy that said Fuck the Tories to camera you are my hero. My hometown right there \ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc77\udb40\udc6c\udb40\udc73\udb40\udc7f\n#FACup #wrexhamafc\u201d— Elaine Jones (@Elaine Jones) 1675011640
\u201cYes @Wrexham_AFC Fuck The Tories! \ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffb\u201d— Chris Coney (@Chris Coney) 1675011636
\u201cAmazing job to the camera person who centered the fan at the #Wrexham #Sheffield match with Fuck The Tories written on a trophy. \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffd #FACup\u201d— Jessie defund police fund abortions Losch\ud83d\udc9a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfe\ud83c\udf31 (@Jessie defund police fund abortions Losch\ud83d\udc9a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfe\ud83c\udf31) 1675011689
On closer inspection, it appears that the sign had a flap concealing the message thus hiding it from the cameras until the last minute. Impressive commitment.
\u201cA tin foil FA Cup with a flap that was lifted up as soon as the BBC cameras went onto it.\n\nInventive to say the least.\u201d— HLTCO (@HLTCO) 1675016716
Aside from the unintended political broadcast Ryan Reynolds did appear at the start of the broadcast speaking to Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Mark Hughes. The Deadpool star was also bullish about what the result of the game might be: "I'm going to go on the record right now and say that there is a chance - albeit a very slim chance - that Sheffield United pulls off a miracle today!"
He added that since taking over Wrexham in late 2020 that he has grown to love the "hellacious" sport so much that he now "hates it."
The Canadian superstar added: "Of course I do, each match I'm pacing around like a caged lion. I get nervous because this is an extraordinary moment, it's a classic David vs Goliath story.
"But you guys know this more than anybody on earth, that this is football, this is the beautiful game and absolutely anything can happen."
Reynolds almost got his wish but it wasn't meant to be as a dramatic game finished 3-3, with Sheffield United grabbing a 95th-minute equaliser to force a replay.
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.