Paris Olympics 2024 LIVE updates: Day 5

Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka-long’s victory over Italy’s Filippo Macchi at Paris 2024 has sparked an exchange of insults on social media, with Cheung’s supporters celebrating his win with posts about pineapple pizzas – widely considered a culinary blunder in Italian cooking.

Cheung made Hong Kong history on Tuesday by beating Macchi 15-14 in the men’s foil. That triumph made Cheung, who had won in the Tokyo Games in 2021, the first Hong Konger to bag two gold medals.

The bout required three stoppages for video reviews to determine the deciding point as the fencing machine registered scores from both fencers at about the same time. The final point was eventually awarded to Cheung, sparking protests from the Italian side.

The Italian Fencing Federation said in a statement that it would file a complaint to the International Olympic Committee and the International Fencing Federation about what it called “unacceptable” refereeing.

“Never seen anything like this. Filippo Macchi is the real winner and he was denied a gold he deserved,” Italian Fencing Federation president Paolo Azzi said.

Macchi’s supporters left comments on Cheung’s Instagram account to express their grievances. One comment alleged that Cheung’s championship was “robbed” and Macchi should be the final winner.

In a mocking response, Hong Kongers replied with comments on Instagram about their love for pineapple pizza to defend Cheung and said they would eat a lot of the toppings to celebrate the win.

Pizza Hut in Hong Kong and neighbouring gambling city Macau also offered free pineapple toppings on any pizzas when dining at its branches on Tuesday and Wednesday to celebrate the victory.

But Macchi eventually earned respect from some Hong Kongers after he posted on his Instagram to say that he knows both referees and he did not want to point a finger at them for his loss.

AP