A light-hearted exchange between actors Omar Sani and Shahriar Nazim Joy over the FIFA World Cup has taken a fresh turn, with Omar Sani jokingly saying he had ordered an “original whip” for Joy after the latter mocked his recent comments about Lionel Messi.
In a Facebook post at 10:46pm on Monday (13 July), Omar Sani wrote, “Listen Shahriar Nazim Joy, your sister Moushumi used a cotton-made whip during film shoots. But I have ordered an original whip for you, so be ready.”
He ended the post with the words, “Subject: Sports, fun,” making it clear that the exchange was intended as friendly banter over football rather than a personal dispute.
The latest post came after Omar Sani’s remarks about Argentina captain Lionel Messi in a video sparked widespread discussion on social media.
Reacting to the video, Shahriar Nazim Joy posted on his verified Facebook account that he had finally understood why Moushumi used to whip Omar Sani in films during the 1990s. He wrote: “Omar Sani bhai called Messi disabled. I used to see Moushumi whipping Omar Sani in films during the 1990s. Now I understand why.”
Joy’s post quickly went viral, triggering debate across social media and prompting Omar Sani’s humorous response.
Within 30 minutes of publishing his latest post, Omar Sani’s Facebook update had received more than 4,000 reactions and over 700 comments. Many users viewed the exchange as friendly banter between two colleagues, while others referred to Joy’s earlier post and joined the discussion.
Explaining his post to Prothom Alo, Joy said football is one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment and should not create division or misunderstanding among people.
He said the rivalry between Brazil and Argentina supporters often reaches unnecessary levels during the FIFA World Cup.
“Omar Sani bhai is actually a very simple person. He made comments about my favourite player, Messi, so I responded with a humorous post. It was entirely for fun and should not be interpreted in any other way,” Joy said.
Omar Sani also stressed in his latest Facebook post that the matter was simply about “sports” and “fun”, reinforcing that he viewed the exchange as friendly teasing rather than a personal conflict.
The back-and-forth between the two stars has since become a fresh talking point among football fans and social media users.
