Luis van Gaal fuelled the internet fire on Sunday after falling to the ground in apparent protest of perceived play-acting on the part of Arsenal players.
Late into the second half at Old Trafford, Van Gaal began berating the fourth official, as Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger stood nearby. As if to display his displeasure at the proceedings on the pitch, Van Gaal threw himself to the ground, stretching out his arms as if asking a question of the officials.
The response on social media was as immediate as the roar of laughter from the crowd.
Gary Lineker tweeted that Van Gaal is “wonderfully bonkers”, and the BBC’s Phil McNulty called it “sensational stuff”:
Louis van Gaal certainly made that long wait for him to come into the technical area worthwhile. Sensational stuff.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) February 28, 2016
The rest of the twittersphere began to break out Vines of the incident:
Van Gaal’s dive simulation, the best thing you’ll see today: https://t.co/CS6uuSily3
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) February 28, 2016
The clips were swiftly followed by photoshopped images, essentially turning the incident into an internet meme:
It’s VAN GAAL!
He’s done the IMPOSSIBLE. pic.twitter.com/ra3Huh7MRt— Amaan (@Simply_Ander) February 28, 2016
Louis van Gaal recreating the bear attack scene from The Revenant… #MUFC pic.twitter.com/nCnmBydzrU
— Top Corner (@HITCtopcorner) February 28, 2016
And with the Oscars just around the corner, the internet wastes no time in taking a dig at Leonardo DiCaprio:
#ThatMomentWhen you were sure you were going to win your first Oscar only for Louis van Gaal to snatch it from you. pic.twitter.com/v6HnFppBpW
— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) February 28, 2016
Subeditor: Arthur Renard