Russians popularize mustaches in support of their team

As football fans around the world count down to the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a prominent Russian TV host has launched a campaign to support the national football team, with a nod to the head coach’s facial hair.

Russian manager Stanislav Cherchesov is renowned for his signature moustache and Ivan Urgant, presenter of the Vercherny Urgant show, urged its viewers and Instagram followers  to grow their own and post photos using the hashtag #MoustacheOfHope.

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К нашей масштабной акции поддержки сборной России по футболу и тренера Станислава Черчесова #усынадежды присоединились юные патриоты ⚽ Мы призываем всех зрителей отращивать усы и выкладывать свои усатые фотографии в соцсети с тегом #усынадежды. Самые интересные снимки попадут в эфир нашей программы! #взглядснизу #сборнаяРоссии #чм2018 #футбол #усы #черчесов #worldcup2018 #чемпионатмира #вечернийургант #urgantshow #носиусы

A post shared by Вечерний Ургант (@vecherniy_urgant) on Jun 5, 2018 at 11:08pm PDT

The post, which claims everything is against Cherchesov including “forecasts, weather, the laws of physics, the anatomy of some football players and simple logic as well!”, has been liked over 40k times.

But not everybody has reacted to the post positively. There are some sceptics calling for the players to perform better rather than relying on online campaigns.

“All hopes pinned on the moustache now,” adds Radick who wrote that it was the team’s only hope.