Sidemen Charity Match: Kai Cenat’s nullified goal leads to significant spike in searches for ‘soccer rules’ and ‘offside’
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Google Trends reports that searches for "soccer rules" and "offside" significantly increased on Saturday, September 9, the day of the Sidemen Charity Football Match 2023.
The highest rise was in America, where searches went up by over 200%, per Dexerto. Given that Americans refer to the game as soccer rather than football and that the rules of offside are less well-known, this makes sense.
Kai Cenat's team lost Sidemen Charity Match 2023
Influencers from all around the world came together for the Sidemen Charity Football Match to play soccer while raising money for charity. The game was streamed live with over two million viewers.
Even though the Sidemen FC, led by KSI, ultimately prevailed in the match, Kai Cenat's initial play appeared to have the potential to score.
However, the goal was ultimately ruled to have been offside because of the convoluted offside rules. Given the large increase in searches for "offside" and "soccer rules" that followed, it appears that many viewers found this to be confusing.
However, there were still significant increases for "offside rules" in the UK, indicating that even on their own soil, Brits aren't entirely familiar with how football's more intricate regulations operate, according to Dexerto.
A tense exchange between IShowSpeed and KSI during the game was another highlight. The British YouTuber mocked the younger streamer before skillfully defending his penalty.
Sidemen FC won the game 8–5 in the end. Goalkeeper xQc had the lowest final score in the game—0.3—and was widely criticized by spectators for the Allstars' defeat.
Kai Cenat's fans dubbed him 'IShowSpeed 2.0'
Initially, throughout the game, fellow YouTuber Theo Baker set up Kai Cenat purposefully for a scoring opportunity. Cenat quickly unleashed a shot into the top corner of the goal, beating KSI, who was manning the goal, by seizing the opportunity.
Fans laughed out loud at this play since it echoed the famous IShowSpeed offside goal from the 2022 game. Fans were jokingly making fun of Cenat and IShowSpeed on X (previously Twitter), responding to their post with hilarious comments.
One person wrote, "Kai Cenat just did the IShowSpeed 2.0 ."
Kai Cenat just did the IShowSpeed 2.0 😂 #SidemenCharityMatch#SidemenCharityMatchpic.twitter.com/uHzRYD5uwQ
— Ken Adams 𝕩 (@RedCannonFC) September 9, 2023
Another user wrote, "This is the most inefficient way for them to raise money"
It's important to note that both players put in a lot of work at the gym and gave their best to win the game. They entered the field with the express purpose of scoring goals.
A total of 13 goals were scored in the Sidemen Charity Match, which saw KSI and the Sidemen defeat the YouTube Allstars, which included well-known players like Kai Cenat, IShowSpeed, and xQc in the London stadium.