The fan who made a huge blunder at the World Cup — and the crazy solution he found
Shawn Carrington, a 36-year-old from England, went viral on social media after deciding to celebrate his team’s historic World Cup win before the tournament even ended. He was so confident in the team’s success under coach Thomas Tuchel that he rushed to tattoo the World Cup on his leg alongside the winning caption. But reality had different plans, and he had to find a creative and amusing solution to deal with the embarrassing blunder left on his body.
Shawn Carrington, a 36-year-old from England, went viral on social media after deciding to celebrate his team’s historic World Cup win before the tournament even ended. Carrington was so confident in the team’s success under coach Thomas Tuchel that he rushed to tattoo the World Cup on his leg alongside the winning caption. However, reality had different plans, and he had to find a creative and amusing solution to deal with the embarrassing blunder that remained on his body.
An early bet and a painful loss
It all began after England’s 1:2 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 16. The enthusiastic Carrington paid 550 pounds sterling for a World Cup tattoo above the words “England World Champions 2026.” His confidence was sky-high, but hope quickly vanished when Argentina dashed the English dream with a 1:2 win in the semi-final. Following the painful elimination, the disappointed fan had to return to the tattoo studio to make an urgent change to the piece.
Carrington returned to the “Holy Trinity” tattoo studio in the town of Standish, where he added the caption “Just kidding” directly beneath the original victory statement. The studio manager, Jamie Taylor, noted that such a correction usually costs about 100 pounds sterling, but they decided to do the work for free. The studio shared a video of the correction on Facebook and wrote humorously:
“This is exactly why tattoo artists tell you to wait. At least he has a good sense of humor and took responsibility for the matter.”
No regrets for the future
Despite everything, Carrington made it clear that he does not regret his actions. He said that what bothers him more is that England didn’t win the Cup, rather than the tattoo on his leg. In the end, Tuchel’s team finished third after beating France 4:6 in the bronze match in Miami. Carrington did not rule out additional football tattoos in the future, explaining that he follows spontaneous ideas that come to mind.
