Jude Bellingham appeared to slap Argentina ace Valentin Barco to spark a fiery confrontation following England’s World Cup defeat to Argentina. Lionel Messi’s side were celebrating their victory while Bellingham watched on, before the Real Madrid star took issue with the unsuspecting Barco.
Goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez sparked an Argentina comeback in Atlanta as Lionel Scaloni’s team reached a successive World Cup final. England had taken the lead through Anthony Gordon before having their hearts broken in the second half after sitting back to defend their lead.
Barco, who was an unused substitute, had previously antagonised England’s players. The Chelsea-bound star charged towards the Three Lions’ squad following Fernandez’s leveller, rather than linking up with his own teammates in celebration.
Referee Ismail Elfath was forced to intervene swiftly to remove Barco from England’s vicinity. The former Brighton player avoided any additional sanction, though.
It seems that the incident remained fresh in Bellingham’s thoughts, however. New footage captures the Real Madrid midfielder simply observing Argentina’s full-time celebrations before Barco joins a cluster of his colleagues.
Bellingham had even exchanged handshakes with another player, but upon Barco’s approach, his stance shifted. The 23-year-old strode across and caught Barco in the face before the duo exchanged a shove and some heated words.
A minor scuffle broke out, with Morgan Rogers and Bellingham both requiring restraint. England’s reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson had also positioned himself as a barrier as Argentinian players attempted to confront his team-mate.
England manager Thomas Tuchel stood by his second-half tactical switch to bring on additional defenders, while also commending his side’s character as they bow out of the competition. “You can discuss this with a million coaches (but) I have to make a decision on the pitch,” he said.
Jude Bellingham interrupted his opponent’s celebrations (Image: @as_tv)
“I analysed the match and I did it a certain way so that’s my responsibility. In the moment, no regrets. The team gave everything and we were very, very close. We deserved to be up 1-0.
“We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match in the circumstances. The team was top, we couldn’t get over the line but no regrets.
“I think we saw the mentality throughout the match and the strong group. We played the matches how they were, we played against strong teams in the group, travelled a lot of miles, played at altitude, we played with 10 men, we played in the heat and we overcame every obstacle.
“We were very close today. It’s not the moment to analyse the full tournament, we just went out because we lost a crucial match.”
