Former England footballer Michael Owen has been mocked for a post congratulating Emma Raducanu on winning the Sports Personality of the Year).
Former England striker Owen tweeted a picture of himself from when he claimed the award in 1998 to commemorate Raducanu’s victory.
He wrote alongside the picture: “Congratulations to @EmmaRaducanu who thoroughly deserves to be crowned Sports Personality of the Year 2021. Makes me feel very old that she’s the same age as I was waaaaay back in 1998.”
The response across social media has been brutal with thousands of people replying with random pictures and a caption congratulating Raducanu.
One wrote: “Congratulations Emma, here’s a picture of me winning the hotel darts tournament in Mallorca in 2013.” Another added: “Congrats Emma. Here’s me after accidentally ordering two kilograms of fries in Japan.”
A third posted: “ Congratulations Emma. Here’s a pic of me in 1985. I am just sitting there, thinking.”
Raducanu picked up the acclaimed award, with swimmer Adam Peaty and diver Tom Daley second and third, after winning the US Open earlier this year. She became the first British woman to win it for 44 years and she was the first qualifier to claim the trophy.
She said in her SPOTY acceptance speech: “Thank you so much to all the voters and all of the fans, for all of the support I received this past year, it’s been absolutely insane, especially the energy I felt at Wimbledon this year and playing in front of my home crowd. That was something I have never felt before so thank you very much.
“I’d like to say a big thank you to my team, thank you for all your hard work and efforts over the years. My team, my past coaches, the LTA, my family and friends, thank you so much.
“Congrats to everyone else’s teams as well, it’s definitely a team effort, so thanks to everyone and see you soon.”
