On Sunday, AC Milan faced Juventus in a highly anticipated Serie A match.
And with the possibility of four American players starting in the match, the Fox Sports Soccer X (formerly Twitter) account opted to promote the matchup with a post featuring those four players—AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah and Juventus’ Tim Weah and Weston McKennie—superimposed with the Colosseum in Rome.
The only problem? Juventus plays in Turin while—as their name suggests—AC Milan plays in Milan. With the game being played at AC Milan’s San Siro Stadium, it’s unclear why the Fox Soccer account opted to use a picture of the Colosseum, which is approximately 600 km (or 372 miles) away from where the match was being played and has no known significance to either side.
To put this picture in perspective, it would be akin to using a picture of the Statue of Liberty to promote a matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns that was being played in Pittsburgh. Sure, the Colosseum is one of Italy’s most recognizable landmarks. But one would also imagine that anybody invested enough in Italian soccer to watch AC Milan vs. Juventus would also know that it has nothing to do with either of the teams playing.
As one might imagine, many on social media were quick to weigh in on the post, which has since been deleted.
Lads that’s Rome
— Hannah (@hlbsafc1989) October 22, 2023
Sorry but… we play in Milan not in Rome ☠️☠️
— Sono nessuno (@Rita42062) October 22, 2023
They don’t play in Rome!
— rich v (@richievvergara) October 22, 2023
Nothing says a game between a team from Lombardy and a team from Piedmont like a picture of the colosseum in Rome.
— شاهين ⵛⴰⵀⵉⵏ 隼 (@goldexrequiem) October 22, 2023
we are not playing in Rome! 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️
— ChristianJames 🤍🖤📸🌎✈️ (@ChrisJames27_) October 22, 2023
Turin and Milan seem far away from Rome. Are they playing in the coliseum?
— Lafayette Cattington (@Woodrow4100) October 22, 2023
What’s Rome got to do with Juve and Milan?
— JG (@_JAGough_) October 22, 2023
Arguably making matters worse is that Fox has owned the United States’ broadcasting rights for the World Cup since 2015 and will continue to carry the tournament through at least the 2026 World Cup. While foreign geography can be tricky, one would expect better from an outlet tasked with carrying the sport’s most prominent world tournament.
While soccer coverage has certainly come a long way in the U.S., this ill-advised post suggests that it still has a ways to go—at least as far as Fox is concerned.
