Aryan Singh

The Origins Of Troll Phrase ‘Airport This Way’ Morocco Fans Used To Taunt Spain

2022 FIFA World Cup, Morocco, Spain National Football Team

Tuesday was yet another crazy day of the Qatar World Cup, featuring 2 games that are destined to go down in the history books.

One had 7 goals, the other had none, and from a neutral standpoint, the latter still managed to be more entertaining.

The Round of 16 tie in focus saw favorites Spain take on underdogs Morocco, for 120 minutes of high-octane drama, followed by the weighty cauldron of nerves known as a penalty shootout.

Yassine Bounou stepped up massively for the Atlas Lions by saving three spot kicks and eventually winning the game for his country.

Morocco players fling goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in air after his heroics in the penalty shootout v Spain.

A lot of players were key to Morocco making history but equally important to their achievement were the fans.

Across each of their games in the tournament thus far, Moroccan fans have flocked to the venues in droves, drowning out opposition support almost entirely in the process.

Against a National Heavyweight like Spain, the story was no different, as the entire stadium was painted in a sea of Moroccan Red.

Every Spanish touch on the ball was whistled, every Moroccan offence cheered and every bit of heroic defending by the Atlas Lions was celebrated.

It was a team effort in every sense of the word, and some Moroccan continued to throw shade at Spain even after full-time.

As seen in various viral clips, fans flocked around the Spanish team’s bus and sarcastically reminded them of the way to the airport.

They paired chants of ‘Airport, this way’ with some emphatic pointing, taking a page straight out of ‘Metro man’s book.

For the uninitiated, ‘Metro Man’ in reality is Abubakar Abbas, who works as a guard outside the stadiums.

Usually seated atop a lifeguard’s chair sporting a foam finger, Abbas’ job boils down to pointing out the way to the metro, and he happens to be very good at his job. 

Clips of him saying ‘metro this way’ through a megaphone have become crazily popular, and he was invited to the England v USA game to perform his signature catchphrase.

Ever since ‘Metro Man’ went viral, fans have been using his words and gestures to mockingly remind the opposition that their stay in Qatar is over. 

Many national sides have fallen victim to the chants, and unfortunately, Spain got caught in the line of fire as well.

It all happened after their bus got held up on their way back, as they were met with parading Moroccans who relentlessly reminded them of the way to the airport. 

The chant has basically become a go-to for World Cup spectators, and you can expect such clips to pop up even more during the upcoming knockout ties.