Croydon rapper Stormzy was mistaken for new Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku in yesterday’s edition of The Herald.
The Irish newspaper ran a back-page photo of the grime artist with the headline: “Lukaku is ready for work.”
Lukaku, a 24-year-old Belgian striker, completed a £75 million transfer to United after passing his medical.
Lukaku’s pending move to Manchester was reported by The Herald however instead of using a photo of the former Everton player, it was actually Stormzy.
That awkward moment when you mistake Stormzy for Lukaku.
/@graemetighe pic.twitter.com/2bwnctiR2q
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) July 10, 2017
Stormzy, a Manchester United fan, didn’t find the publication’s error so funny.
I don’t find none of this funny btw don’t wanna sound like the party pooper who missed the joke…
— #GSAP (@Stormzy1) July 10, 2017
The Herald apologised for the error in a tweet yesterday. The photo used appears to be from a 2016 interview Stormzy did with Soccer Bible.
Apology: Picture error in today’s Herald https://t.co/ntHGweV9pq pic.twitter.com/kf6J8IXnKO
— The Herald (@HeraldNewsdesk) July 10, 2017
This isn’t the first time the pair’s uncanniness has been pointed out. In 2014, Stormzy tweeted about their similar appearances and this latest error has caused a social media frenzy.
So man are out ere calling me Lukaku
— #GSAP (@Stormzy1) July 1, 2014
A lot of people think we have signed @Stormzy1 #Lukaku #mufc pic.twitter.com/DiiHTvGMmq
— Unitereddevils (@Unite_Reddevils) July 6, 2017
RT for Stormzy
Like for Lukaku. pic.twitter.com/6i8YZhU3NU— DaddyMo (@officialdaddymo) July 10, 2017
Alan Steenson, editor of The Herald issued an official apology yesterday: “Hands up, we got it badly wrong.
“Earlier, we made an error with a picture of Romelu Lukaku that wasn’t him. It was Stormzy. To be honest, we are totally embarrassed and want to say sorry to all involved and our readers for the error. We will keep our eye on the ball in future.”