Valentin Barco, the Argentine midfielder who was slapped by Jude Bellingham at the World Cup, was loudly booed as he made his Chelsea debut on Thursday.
Barco completed a transfer from BlueCo-owned Strasbourg to Chelsea earlier this month and got the nod to start in midfield for the Carabao Cup visit of Luton Town.
But he did not get the warm welcome from Stamford Bridge he might have expected as his every touch of the ball was booed enthusiastically through the first 15 minutes of the match.
Booing from the stands
The boos seemed to originate largely from the away end, but some home supporters also appeared to be joining in.
Barco is not a terribly popular character in England due to his role in Argentina’s acrimonious World Cup semi-final victory over Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Barco did not play a minute of the match, but raced onto the pitch to celebrate in the face of England’s defenders after Lautaro Martinez’s injury-time winner.
World Cup confrontation
He repeated the trick at full time, joining a celebratory huddle and appearing to exchange words with England’s Bellingham.
The Real Madrid midfielder then slapped the back of Barco’s head, triggering a brief melee which was promptly dispersed.
Neither player faced disciplinary action after the fact, though several Argentina players were handed lengthy suspensions and heavy fines for their involvement in the unsavoury scenes which followed their final defeat by Spain.
Other Argentine players targeted
Barco is not Chelsea’s only Argentine to have received an unsavoury welcome on return to England, with Enzo Fernandez also booed by home fans at Craven Cottage as Chelsea beat Fulham 3-2 to open their Premier League campaign.
