Argentina’s Valentin Barco getting into a scuffle with an England player just before Jude Bellingham’s slap.
New, unseen footage might help explain why Jude Bellingham got upset with Argentina substitute Valentin Barco after England’s tough loss to Lionel Scaloni’s team in the World Cup semi-final.
England took the lead with a goal from Anthony Gordon, but Argentina came back late with goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez after England’s defense fell back. Thomas Tuchel’s team missed out on their first World Cup final since 1966, and tempers boiled over after the game. Bellingham was especially frustrated.
Cameras caught the Real Madrid star slapping Barco on the back of the head, which led to a scuffle involving players from both teams. Former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi got involved, and England’s Morgan Rogers supported his teammate. Meanwhile, goalkeepers James Trafford and Dean Henderson tried to calm things down.
Footage from the stands showed that Barco, whom Bellingham joined in Argentina’s celebrations, said something close enough for Bellingham to hear. This might explain the quick physical reaction.
During the match at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bellingham had confrontations with Leandro Paredes and Lionel Messi, and Cristian Romero also celebrated right in his face. But the reason Bellingham went after Barco—who only played briefly against Jordan—seems to make more sense now.
Before Bellingham’s reaction, Barco was actually involved in a moment against another England player. Social media clips shared by the BBC, though not shown on their broadcast, captured Barco running onto the pitch after Fernandez scored past Jordan Pickford from a Messi assist.
Most substitutes ran to celebrate with Fernandez, but Barco, wearing a bib, headed straight toward the England players. Cameras showed him punching the air and jumping excitedly near Nico O’Reilly. John Stones didn’t like Barco’s behavior and pushed him away as he left. Barco, who plays for Strasbourg, Chelsea’s partner club, was then spoken to by referee Ismail Elfath.
But the drama didn’t stop there. Argentina players were seen dancing with a banner referencing the 1982 Falklands War, which sadly claimed 907 lives. Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero, and Giovani Lo Celso carried the banner on the pitch. It read “Las Malvinas Son Argentinas,” which means “The Falkland Islands are Argentine.”
This happened even though Argentina’s coach Scaloni had asked for politics to be kept out of the game. The banner was passed to the players from fans in the stands, prompting UK business secretary Peter Kyle to say, “FIFA should be looking into this.”
Back in 2014, Argentina faced a £20,000 fine and a warning from FIFA after their players posed with a similar banner before a World Cup warm-up match against Slovenia.
Outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed calls for an investigation by FIFA and reminded everyone that the Falklands belong to the UK. Starmer said, “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are. Our position is clear. Self-determination belongs to the islanders, and we will always stand by the Falklands.”
He added, “More broadly, possible action is up to FIFA, but it’s been a fantastic World Cup, and we’ve always said politics should stay out of football.”