Fundraising funnyman pulls a UNO card after penalty at charity game

Footballers worldwide often disagree with referees’ decisions, but arguing with the ref rarely goes well for the player.

That is until British comedian Max Fosh decided to try his luck, pulling out a UNO reverse card in response to being booked by ex-Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg.

Playing for the YouTube All-Stars against the Sidemen FC in the annual Sidemen Charity Match at a sold-out London Stadium, Fosh saw yellow after a late challenge in the 77th minute but immediately flashed his green UNO reverse card in response.

A reverse card in the popular card game, where the aim is to lay down all of one’s own cards, reverses the direction of play, and has since become used as a popular meme* used to refer to a comeback* or karmic* change of events.

Leaving aside normal UNO rules, in which the card’s mismatched* colour would have made it useless, Clattenburg went along with the joke and quickly withdrew the yellow card.

Fosh’s stunt* wasn’t enough to lift the YouTube All-Stars to victory. They went down 8-5 in a match that raised over $4.7 million for four UK charities, including the Teenage Cancer Trust, mental health organisation CALM, education charity M7 Education and children’s charity Rays of Sunshine.

Social media lit up in response to the viral moment.

“Max Fosh just UNO-reversed Mark Clattenburg for a yellow card and it worked, what am I watching?” one fan wrote.

Sports podcaster Matt Mysh called it “the greatest response to a yellow card I’ve ever seen.”

The 28-year-old Fosh, the son of former Cambridge University and Essex first-class cricketer Matthew Fosh, first came to notice after going viral in early 2022 after a spontaneous street interview.

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GLOSSARY

• meme: amusing or interesting video or image that spreads very quickly on the internet
• comeback: funny and quick reply to something, especially criticism
• karmic: from karma, an idea that what you do and how you behave affects your fate
• mismatched: not matching, not suitable, wrong, unsuited or incompatible in some way
• stunt: something done for effect and usually for attention
• spontaneous: unplanned, impromptu, unexpected and sudden

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QUICK QUIZ

1. What penalty card did the referee show UK comedian Max Fosh?
2. What card did comedian Fosh then show the referee?
3. What would have made Fosh’s card useless under normal UNO rules?
4. How much money did the charity match raise?
5. Which charities were being supported by the annual fundraiser?

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