Conversations are raging on social media after the Super Falcons’ Asisat Oshoala pulled her top off to celebrate scoring a third goal against Australia in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
In the 72nd minute, the Barcelona attacker raced in on a defensive mix-up and beat an Australian defender for pace before sliding past the custodian from a tight angle to give the Super Falcons a 3-1 lead.
The 29-year-old took off her shirt and dashed to the sideline to celebrate her goal with her colleagues, earning herself a yellow card in the process.
Her iconic portrait has sparked debate among social media users, with some doubting her religion and morals.
The Super Falcon has since been a subject on social media, with some criticizing her choice to remove her shirt to celebrate while others praising her.
An X (formerly Twitter) user, Olumide Oluyisola, wrote, ”Good goal. But due to so much indiscipline, she (Oshoala) just got an absolutely useless yellow card, which may become a problem for the team if they go far in the tournament.”
Journalist Debola Adebanjo leaped into Oshoala’s defence, saying the picture of her celebration will go viral across the globe.
“An icon is an icon. Oshoala’s shirtless celebration will be picked up by every media outlet from now until the end of this World Cup. When you are big, you are just that big.”
Popular Nigerian comedian Segun Ogundipe, popularly known as Lafup, also weighed in on the conversation, saying, “That jersey pull-off is a major move towards a deeper conversation, an epic example of balance for the better.”
Sola Egunjobi also expressed fears that her yellow card wouldn’t come back to haunt the Falcons.
He wrote, “Hope she doesn’t miss a key game after a second yellow card. We need to be careful about these things in football.”
Ojoko Timipre expressed delight at her celebration. “I never knew Asisat Oshoala had a flat stomach. I like girls with flat tummies, and above all, including her flat tummy, she is better than Mudrky of Chelsea, Martial of Manchester United, and Ferran Torres of FC Barcelona. She is the total package.”
Shehu Sani reacted differently to the buzz: “Don’t talk too much about Asisat’s Shirtless stunt. I only looked at it once. Just appreciate her great performance and that of other Falcons.”
