Blue Eagles star draws flak for controversial football tweet
Be careful what you tweet.
Former Ateneo Blue Eagles forward Nico Salva learned this the hard way Wednesday night after he posted a tweet about the telecast of the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinal match between the Philippine Azkals and the Singapore Lions.
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The tweet, which Salva (@nicobesalva), the Season 76 UAAP Finals MVP, has since deleted, read:
“Finally, the boring football game on aktv is over. Now can you show the pba game already?”
AKTV, which broadcasts both the PBA and Suzuki Cup games, adjusted its schedule for Wednesday night and aired the second PBA quarterfinal game between the Alaska Aces and Meralco Bolts after the Azkals-Singapore match, which ended at around 10PM.
Salva’s tweet quickly spread online and drew angry reactions from Azkals supporters, who were already upset by their team’s 1-0 loss to Singapore.
Sportswriter Alder Almo was able to save a screenshot of the tweet:
Nico Salva's controversial tweet that earned the ire of football community. screencap by @_josiahalbelda twitter.com/alderalmo/stat…
— alder almo (@alderalmo) December 12, 2012
One Azkals supporter sarcastically tweeted: "Finally they are showing the boring basketball game. How does that feel, Nico Salva?"
I respect Nico Salva's opinion but he should have just apologized to the fans offended by his remarks.
— crizza dealino (@kahelera) December 13, 2012
Someone should tell Nico Salva that what's boring is Ateneo winning five times in a row. #kieferforever (Pasintabi to all Ateneo friends)
— Mika (@swikey) December 12, 2012
Biglang bura ng tweet si nico salva.You support our national teams but you call the azkals and football boring.. Saan ang support dun?
— angelo agcamaran (@aahimself) December 12, 2012
Others were more pointed in their criticism, with some resorting to name-calling. It got so bad that soon there were calls from some to back off the cyberbullying.
Alright, guys. Let's not engage in excessive cyberbullying on Nico Salva. I'm sure he already regrets having to deal with this embarassment.
— John Paul Manahan (@misterjpmanahan) December 12, 2012
Thursday morning, Salva went on an FM radio station show to explain his side. He said he didn't mean to offend Azkals supporters, and that he just wanted to watch some basketball.