Javi Poves, the president of a Spanish soccer club, recently changed the name of his team from Móstoles Balompié to Flat Earth FC. Through this move, Poves was aiming to promote the 'Flat Earth' conspiracy theory which recently gained widespread popularity among several celebrities and sports personalities.
In a recent talk with the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Monday, Poves argued that there is a huge economic motive behind the globe Earth theory. He also offered a reward to scientists who succeed in submitting a photograph of the space that is not made with the help of computer graphics.
"There is a huge economic motive for which many people want to convince us that the Earth is round. If the Earth is spherical, why are so many people scared? There is a cool reward for whoever gets a photo of space that isn't CGI. I have never felt the Earth move. I'm still waiting for you to show me: how does water curve?" said Poves during the talk, Newsweek reports.
Poves also argued that Spanish science minister and former astronaut Pedro Duque will not take up this challenge as he is afraid of losing the contest. The football club president also alleged that Pedro Duque is earning a lot of money by spreading white lies about the shape of the Earth.
As the name suggests, believers of flat Earth theory believe that the planet in which we live in is disc-shaped. These conspiracy theorists argue that snow walls in Antarctica act as a wall to protect living beings from falling.
Javi Poves is not the first sports personality to propagate the flat Earth theory. A few months back, Andrew Flintoff, former English cricketer had claimed that the Earth is flat and not spherical. To substantiate his theory, Flintoff also cited an outlandish example.
"If you're in a helicopter and you hover why does the Earth not come to you if it's round? Why, if we're hurtling through space, why would water stay still? Why is it not wobbling? Also if you fire a laser about 16 miles, if the world was curved, you shouldn't be able to see it but you can," said Flintoff.
