‘Pineapple belongs on pizza’: Italy vs Hong Kong Instagram war after Cheung’s gold medal

Hongkongers were prepared to hit the Italians where it hurt as the fallout over the dramatic bout spilled onto social media

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Cheung Ka-long’s victory over Filippo Macchi led to a bitter feud between Italian and Hong Kong users on Instagram

Published: 3:00pm, 30 Jul 2024Updated: 4:37pm, 13 Aug 2024

Cheung Ka-long’s victory over Italy’s Filippo Macchi in the fencing gold medal bout has led to a bitter fallout that has now spilled out into all-out war on Instagram.

The Hongkonger’s controversial win was met with a backlash in Italy as Macchi’s coach labelled his pupil the “moral winner” and the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) lodged a formal complaint.

But now things have sunk really low as fans of the two sides have taken to trading insults against one another under Cheung’s posts on his Instagram account.

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‘Pineapple belongs on pizza’: Olympic fencing bout sparks Italy vs Hong Kong Instagram war

“I like pineapple pizza and pasta with soy sauce,” one Hong Kong user wrote, a reference to what is considered a faux pas in Italian cooking.

This was also followed by memes that read “I love pineapple in pizza” and “pineapple belongs to pizza” to really ram home the point.

Hongkongers’ memes hit Italy where it hurts. Photo: Instagram/cheungkalonggggg

Italians and Hongkongers at loggerheads on social media after the bitter gold medal bout. Photo: Instagram/cheungkalonggggg

Pineapple on pizza is considered one of the biggest faux pas in Italian cooking. Photo: Instagram/cheungkalonggggg

To add insult to injury, Pizza Hut Hong Kong and Macao announced free pineapple toppings on their pizzas to celebrate the Hong Kong team’s medals, starting from 6pm today to July 31.