Friday the 1st of April 2022 is, of course, April Fools’ Day. The day, which is acknowledged around the globe, sees people play practical jokes on each other until 12 pm.
Thanks to modern technology, it is very easy for individuals worldwide, and even in the mass media, to take part in April Fools’ Day with thousands of others.
The footballing world is no different, often featuring some of the most elaborate pranks.
In turn, 101 have rounded up the best football-related pranks from 2022’s April Fools’ Day.
Tottenham’s dining habits
One of the most bizarre April Fools gags of the day came from football.london, and related to Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.
The Italian is well known for changing up the food available to his players, with Conte having actually banned ketchup in the Tottenham canteen earlier this season.
The story from FL on Friday went one step further, however, running with the headline ‘Tottenham to make players eat with left hand only as it 'increases chances of silverware'’.
The article starts without too much out of the ordinary, but gets pretty silly midway through:
“It’s believed the club are monitoring players in the Spurs canteen to ensure they are not eating with their right hand. A fine system is in place for those caught not adhering to the rules. One source said forfeits have also been drawn up by club captain Lloris, which include wearing an Arsenal beanie hat for the day and spending an hour cleaning dishes in the Spurs canteen.
“It's understood some players were left puzzled following the initial meeting, so Paul Gascoigne was drafted in to help explain the benefits. The former Spurs midfielder only ate and drank using his left hand during England's successful Euro 96 campaign, and the now 54-year-old told Tottenham's players he blames himself for England's semi-final defeat to Germany due to eating a bowl of porridge with his right hand that same morning.”
Jose Mourinho's return
As well as having their dining habits targeted, Tottenham were also tipped to welcome back a former manager on April Fools’ Day.
Spurs news account ‘That Tottenham Feed’ published an article that suggested Jose Mourinho was keen on a return to north London, and even came up with some quotes that will no doubt haunt Spurs fans:
Wolves up for sale
The best of the rest
Some more of the best April Fools’ Day pranks can be seen below.
Egypt & Senegal to be replayed
It was claimed that FIFA had ordered a replay of Egypt’s loss to Senegal, which was marred by controversy after the former's players had lasers pointed at them during the penalty shootout.
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