Players from Manchester United’s women’s team have poked fun at Red Devils fan Frank Ilett, whose wait for a haircut continues afer the men’s side failed to beat West Ham on Tuesday.
Ilett, who will not cut his hair until Michael Carrick’s team win five Premier League games in a row came agonisingly close to achieving his goal on Tuesday when United went into their clash against West Ham on the back of four victories on the spin.
But, despite Benjamin Sesko’s late goal, they could only manage a draw – the first time they failed to win under Michael Carrick – and the streak started again.
It means his wait for a much-needed haircut – which has gone on for nearly 500 days – is set to continue.
United’s women’s team, however, have won six matches in a row. Had Ilett promised to grow his hair until either side won five in a row, he could be clean shaven by now.
Marc Skinner’s side have won every game since drawing with Arsenal on January 10, getting the better of Burnley, the Gunners, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Leicester before Thursday.
The viral Manchester United fan who is not cutting his hair until the side win five games in a row has been mocked by the side’s women’s team
Then, in the Champions League, they saw off Atletico Madrid, beating the Spanish side 3-0, and the players chose to mock Ilett in their celebrations.
Elisabeth Terland opened the scoring in the third minute of the game, and the goal scorer, alongside England defender Maya Le Tissier, were seen pretending to cut their ponytails.
Ilett’s live reaction to Tomas Soucek’s goal for West Ham – that put the Hammers 1-0 up – in front of almost 100,000 viewers on streaming site Kick said everything. The afro-toting social media star held his head for several seconds, before consoling himself with the encouragement: ‘There’s plenty of time, plenty of time.’
After almost 500 days of waiting, and having amassed 1.3million followers on Instagram, Ilett – known as The United Strand – is back to square one.
‘We go again for the next five,’ one of his friends said at full-time, as Ilett sat pensively, with a thousand-yard stare, covering his mouth with his fingers. By this point, almost 180,000 people were watching.
‘The longer the better for the charity,’ he said, referring to how he will donate his hair to The Little Princess Trust, who provide wigs to children who have lost their hair. ‘I don’t want this to be about me.’
While his challenge has brought humour to rival fans, he has been accused of financially benefiting greatly from United’s downfall, something he denies.
The United duo haven’t been the only professionals in the game to poke fun at the social media star, either. West Ham’s assistant boss Paco Jemez reportedly aimed a cheeky dig his way in midweek – before his side had even ended the streak.
Jemez, who joined the Hammers in mid-January, was asked about Ilett’s challenge on Spanish TV ahead of the game.
Frank Ilett came close to completing the challenge in midweek before United drew with West Ham in the Premier League
Speaking on Cope’s ‘El Partidazo’ programme, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, he said: ‘I saw the Manchester United fan with the hair (Frank Ilett) and I told him: “You’re not getting a haircut today”.’
Carrick, meanwhile, brushed off any talk before the game, saying: ‘I can say I’m aware of it, yeah. My kids have made me aware of it, if anything.
‘It certainly won’t go into the team talk, from a professional level. I can understand and what’s going on with it and it does make me smile but it won’t have an impact ultimately in the end.’
