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Social media slays Italian football team after extremely ill-advised haka

Probably best to just leave it to the All Blacks, boys.

Johnny Lieu

on April 21, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

What in the world was AC Milan thinking?

The Italian football club was behind a cringeworthy ripoff of the haka Thursday as part of a promotion for a skincare company. The dance is traditionally performed by New Zealand's Māori people, and has become known around the world thanks to the country's sporting teams, who perform it with respect, and you know, a genuine understanding of its cultural significance.

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The utterly astounding performance came before a Serie A match against Carpi. The dance was dubbed the "Tekitanka," and slogans that read "Men, this is your ritual!" were displayed along the stadium's sideboards. The club even boasted about it on Twitter.

The haka was performed by a group of actors and not the actual team, according to the ABC. Can you imagine club legends Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso or Clarence Seedorf performing a fake haka for their sponsors? It would never happen.

The fake haka also included the group motioning the act of scrubbing their face and body and washing their hands. Yuck.

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Unsurprisingly, no one on social media was impressed.

Some thought it exemplified everything that is wrong with football today, while others were pretty certain New Zealand was going to declare war on Italy for the corporate abomination.

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A spokesperson for Beiersdorf, NIVEA's parent company, has apologised if they caused offence in a statement sent via email to Mashable Australia.

"NIVEA Men has organized a one off activity before the match AC Milan – Carpi on April 21. Actors were wearing the shirts of AC Milan and have performed a dance – inspired by the HAKA Maori dance. It was never our intention to offend anyone. We are truly sorry if this has happened," the statement read.

Probably best to leave the haka to the All Blacks, boys.

UPDATED: Saturday Apr. 23, 12:36 p.m. AEST -- A statement from NIVEA's parent company, Beiersdorf, was added to the story.

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