Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee hit the ‘machine-gun’ celebration after scoring against Fiorentina on Sunday but fell under Gabriel Batistuta’s curse like Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba in 2013.
The former Bayern Munich starlet converted a penalty kick in the first half of Bologna’s eventual 2-1 loss against Fiorentina at the Stadio Franchi on Sunday, doing a ‘machine-gun’ celebration which is familiar at the Stadio Franchi as it had been used by Viola legend Gabriel Omar Batistuta back in the days.
Fiorentina fans booed Zirkzee during the game as the Viola supporters saw his celebration as disrespectful.
Zirkzee didn’t know the celebration belonged to the Fiorentina legend, so Thiago Motta apologised on his behalf after the final whistle.
“Joshua is a respectful lad, he didn’t mean to trigger anyone. He apologised to his colleagues on the pitch,” Motta said at a post-match press conference.
Zirkzee didn’t even know that Tevez and Pogba had made the same error in 2013 when they celebrated in the same way in a Serie A game against Fiorentina at the Stadio Franchi.
Their goals helped Juventus go two goals ahead against the Tuscans in the first half, but Fiorentina completed a memorable comeback thanks to a Giuseppe Rossi hat-trick and a goal from Joaquin in the second half.