Liverpool FC is an English footballing giant with a massive history and a massive fan-following to match. The beautiful game, after all, is a global sport with a global reach, with fans spread all over. Having said this, there are times when football fans tend to go over the top with their antics.
A rather bizarre incident from South America making the rounds of social media is a case in point. According to reports, officials have seized around 200 kilos worth of cocaine in Paraguay’s border town of Pedro Juan Caballero.
Now, how’s this news related to football, you ask?
Well, these cocaine packets came branded with Liverpool’s crest printed on them. The funny thing, however, is that the packets had a fake variant of the famous Merseyside club’s crest.
A cursory glance shows almost an exact replica of the crest with a Liver bird at the center. But on a closer inspection, the fakeness becomes more apparent than ever.
Over 200 kilos of Liverpool FC branded cocaine seized in Paraguayan border town Pedro Juan Caballero.
— Ralph Hannah (@paraguayralph) November 26, 2021
You’ll never snort alone? pic.twitter.com/xslvzO1Xaw
As one would’ve guessed, the crest has no mention of the name Liverpool whatsoever. Instead, it has the letters’ L & L’ in them, with a subheading which says ‘football club.’ Additionally, in place of the eternal flames flanking the original crest, the fake variant has a football on either side, with an establishment date of 2021.
Moreover, in place of the club’s famous slogan, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone,’ the fake crest has ‘Ismael Montes’ written in it.
For the uninitiated, Ismael Montes Gamboa was a Bolivian general who served as the nation’s President for two terms. During the outbreak of the Chaco war with Paraguay in the early 1930s, he had a largely symbolic role as a military head.
Taking a guess, it’s highly possible that this cross-border drug cartel is run by the now-defunct Liberal Party loyalists, some of who might presumably be Liverpool fans, who saw in their ingenuity a way to commemorate both the club and Montes.
In any case, Liverpool is probably not too stoked about being associated with cocaine or a political figure like Montes for that matter.