A shopkeeper has decided to cordon off the Italian section of a Nisa store in Stoke-On-Trent ahead of the European Championship final between England and Italy. “I did it for a laugh and within 24 hours it hit 12,500 shares and is still growing!”
Avtar, 34, used black and yellow tape to block customers from purchasing a range of goods, including frozen pizzas, pasta sauces and garlic bread [although they definitely haven’t stopped selling pasta and garlic bread, it was for purely comedy purposes].
He posted the following pictures on Facebook with the caption: “We at Nisa take football very seriously!!! Therefore pasta, pasta sauces, Dolmio, Ragu and pizza are all out of bounds and strictly not for sale.
“Nothing Italian will be sold. Goooo England! It’s coming home!”
Avtar’s actions were, of course, tongue-in-cheek. “It was a comedy thing for the local estate,” he told Birmingham Mail. “I’ve run this shop for the last 10 years and have become well integrated into the community.
“Football has become a joint enjoyment for us all. We got together to decorate the shop and thought it would be a laugh to tape off the Italian-based foods as a joke and say they are no longer for sale.
“I did it for a laugh and within 24 hours it hit 12,500 shares and is still growing.
“Around 99.9% of my customers have found the idea humorous and theatrical. In no shape or form is it intended to be harsh or contradictory. I’m British, love football and support the England team. It has brought the community together.
“We haven’t stopped selling pasta and garlic bread it’s just for comedy purposes.”
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| Image credit: PA |
He also thanked those who have supported the post. “A big thank you to the Blurton Community for being supportive, crazy football fans and having a sense of humour towards my post … COME ON ENGLAND!”
Avtar isn’t the only person to have gone above and beyond in his support for the Three Lions during this summer’s tournament.
Dave Jones, 36, from Hereford, has been embroiled in a nation vs nation rivalry with his partner for a number of years, so he decided to prank his Welsh girlfriend by decorating their entire house.
Ashleigh, who is originally from Brecon, will often display a Wales flag in their home when the Dragons play rugby, so he decided to get his own back with a shrine to Gareth Southgate‘s side.
As his girlfriend was working away from their home in Credenhill, a mischievous Dave spent two hours decorating the house with flags and cardboard cutouts of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden.
After a long day at work, she arrived home to a sea of red and white. “She wasn’t best pleased at the start,” Jones tells SPORTbible. “But now she has seen the funny side of it all. Thankfully I’m still allowed to be in the house!”
Featured Image Credit: Facebook