World Cup referee gets snubbed for handshake, reacts pretty smoothly
Iker Casillas offers a reassuring pat on the back
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.World Cup 2014 referee Joe Fletcher suffered the embarrassment of having a handshake fail with a FIFA official televised around the world during the Spain v Chile match last night, though to his credit he handled it pretty coolly.
LIVE: Follow the latest news as England play Uruguay, plus Colombia v Ivory Coast and Japan v Greece
It seems the fast reactions needed to be a referee can be of benefit off the pitch too, with Fletcher turning his missed handshake into a 'wiping my brow' with lightning speed.
He was inadvertently dodged by an official in the tunnel ahead of the match, with Spanish captain Iker Casillas failing to stifle a laugh and even giving Fletcher a reassuring pat on the back.
Realising the oversight, the official quickly returned to the referee for a handshake, but the damage had already been done.
The moment was swiftly uploaded on Vine where it has already received 111,000 tweets.
As handshake fails go it could have been a lot worse, as this wince-inducing effort from Joseph Gordon Levitt shows.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments