Robbie Williams Shows Middle Finger During 2018 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony on Live TV, Leaves Twitterati Confused and Amused! (See Video)

Did we all see it the same thing or was it some sort of sorcery? It happened. The British singer-songwriter, Robbie Williams flipped middle finger during his live performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. The 44-year-old showed his rude finger to kick off an online war on the social media but not before making the 21st edition of FIFA World Cup opening ceremony a hot topic of discussion. ‘British legend’ Robbie Williams was headlining the performances at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium and he surely lived up to the expectations, though, many would have liked to unsee the ‘middle finger act.’ What one fails to decipher is the reason behind Robbie’s thought-process on flipping to entire planet at one go. Nevertheless, love it or hate it, Twitterati, both confused and amused is having a field day post-Robbie Williams’ unexpected, shocking behaviour.

The opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup 2018 saw the cheekiest moments when British popstar did the unthinkable. He was singing and dancing in front of the crowd of 80,000 at Luzhniki Stadium (and millions watching him live on television worldwide) when Williams suddenly stared directly into one of the ground cameras and flipped his finger! In front of stunned audiences, the singer swore at them – yes, for the last time, he flipped at all of us for real.

Now that it is confirmed that we all saw Williams flip at us, the next question is – why he did such a thing. Well, it could be because the singer was denied the permission to hit song "Party Like A Russian." Or, it was Robin Williams’ apt reply to his critics who lashed out at him for accepting the invitation to perform in the opening ceremony held in Russia (yes, England-Russia ties are not so great in the wake of nerve agent scandal.) Whatever, the reason might be, Williams has evoked a strong reaction, both good or bad from netizens. Take a look at some of them.

1. Robbie Williams Flips Middle Finger During FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony

2. Robbie Williams to His Critics

3. Open the ROFL, LOL Gates!!

4. 2018 FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony is Lit AF

5. Of Course, There Were Few of the Offended Ones

6. However, the British Legend Just Does Not Care

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the FIFA World Cup open after a colourful opening ceremony at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium. "The love of football unites the world in one team, independent of language or ideology," the Russian president stated during his speech, as reported by Sputnik news agency. Putin said he hoped fans, players and officials enjoy their stay in Russia during the World Cup, reports Xinhua news agency. "Football is truly loved here and it is called love at first sight, since our first official match here in 1897," Putin said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 14, 2018 10:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).