England’s Jude Bellingham had a rough response to his team’s painful 2-1 loss to Argentina at the World Cup finals on Wednesday and was seen slapping his opponent in the aftermath.
Bellingham slapped Argentina’s Valentín Barco moments after the loss when Barco and his teammates, Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez, linked arms in victory.
“Bellingham approached the trio and struck Barco around the back of the head, leading to an incensed response,” per the New York Post. “Barco immediately retaliated and pushed Bellingham away, but the England star was still having words with Argentina.”
“Others joined in before Argentina’s Nicolás Otamendi stepped in to push Bellingham out for good,” it added.
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Bellingham did, however, prove to be a good sport when he embraced Argentina superstar Lionel Messi after the match. It remains unclear why they initiated the fight with Barco.
Argentina also showed little in the way of good sportsmanship following the win when its players were seen celebrating in front of a flag bearing the message, “Las Malvinas son Argentinas,” which translates to “The Malvinas (the Argentine term for the Falkland Islands) are Argentine.”
“At the final whistle, the Seleccion couldn’t resist staking claim to the British Overseas Territory, and jeered and chanted the slogan staking claim over the Falkland Islands,” reported GB News.
“Several players were seen carrying and posing with the ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ banner in front of their travelling supporters as they celebrated reaching the final,” it added. “Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez and ex-Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso were among those seen holding the banner and jumping in celebration.”
Lo Celso even laid the flag out on the pitch before cheering fans.
The Falklands have been under British rule for 193 years and were central to the 1982 Falklands War, a 72-day conflict in which British troops successfully repelled an invading Argentine force. English explorers landed on the archipelago a century before Argentina had even become an independent state, and the archipelago had no permanent population before their arrival.
In 2013, a referendum was held showing that roughly 98 percent of current Falklands residents wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom.
Argentina could also face a potential fine for violating FIFA’s no political messaging rule.