Diego Maradona’s name was trending on Twitter on Wednesday as football fans took to social media to share their condolences on the passing of one of FIFA’s best players in history.
But to the surprise of many, the news about his death was often accompanied by another hashtag following a misreading of his name, with many fans rushing instead to mourn the loss of “Madonna” - America’s legendary pop queen.
Following the confusion, which has seen a combination of both genuine mistakes and trolling, Madonna’s name also climbed to the top ranks of Twitter trends during the day.
Later, it was difficult to discern whether fans who don't follow football still believed that it was the 62-year-old "Like a Prayer" singer who had passed away or whether they simply could not help but mock the embarrassing mix-up.
Madonna’s “death” eventually became a viral trend, with netizens sharing memes and jokes on the topic, trolling on the assumption that the musician was probably not happy to learn about her demise from the net on Thursday morning.
But there was little laughter coming from Argentina, which has since announced three days of national mourning over Maradona’s death. The 1986 World Cup champion died on 25 November in Buenos Aires at the age of 60 of a heart attack after previously undergoing brain surgery earlier this month.