r/worldcup Norway 1d ago

📰News Jude Bellingham slaps Argentina star after England's World Cup exit

https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/15/jude-bellingham-slaps-argentina-star-englands-world-cup-exit-29148029/?ito=newsnow-feed
2.4k Upvotes

1.8k comments sorted by

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174

u/HaveBikeWillRide 1d ago

England carefully preserved their energy during the game for the post-game brawl.

16

u/Rougareaux 1d ago

Well done

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u/CalibratedOpinion 1d ago

That’s what you call football IQ. Want to go home to Madrid rather than hang around a few days to get pumped by France in the wooden spoon match? Smack the closest opponent and get suspended.

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u/Saber_SSJ2 1d ago

Valentín Barco - ah yes, the star who carries the Argentine team on his back.

10

u/adamu980 1d ago

He ran across the pitch after the equalizer

11

u/Saber_SSJ2 1d ago

Only a true star could pull off such a feat

Dare I say, the MVP of the tournament

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47

u/snowble_25 1d ago

Why Barco out of all the players 😭

22

u/mistborn11 Argentina 1d ago

redhead. /s

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u/prior_rpa-lre 19h ago

Star is a little inflated

27

u/shnazzyhat 18h ago

Their star bench warmer

8

u/prior_rpa-lre 17h ago

😂 right… I thought, “Who is that?”

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46

u/Victal87 1d ago

Hey Jude don’t make it bad.

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47

u/kphillipz 1d ago

HOW CAN HE SLAP?!?!!

5

u/ihateawdtsg 1d ago

Bloody, how can youuu slap her

73

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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28

u/HarryFuzz 1d ago

Nah, just happiness.

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u/jyeatbvg Canada 1d ago

Why didn’t he slap him before the match then 🤔

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u/Tea_An_Crumpets England 20h ago

“Star” i don’t think the lad played a minute

17

u/BlazinBlazerz USA 20h ago

I guess going in against Jordan already up 3-1 for 20 or so minutes makes someone a star now

4

u/ArexSaturn 20h ago

😂😂

6

u/Serterler 13h ago

All Argentinians think they are stars!

6

u/Quirky-Study-2621 12h ago

They think they are better than everyone. The trash of South America- 

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u/MidSoulReaper Mexico 17h ago

Oh no! Anyway...

16

u/theforgedhero 7h ago

Star is a stretch eh

140

u/Thaxtonnn 1d ago

Incorrect title. He slapped Barco, not a star.

32

u/Barack_Yunus Norway 1d ago

Not my call mate. I just laid the news innit.

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u/ThatIestyn 1d ago

Ahh nothing like the day after england getting knocked out of a competition. Media and fans ripping each other apart.

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u/LabRatExtraordinaire 1d ago

Sweet isn't it. It never gets old. 

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u/pittyh Australia 1d ago

How can He slap?

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u/mattyb678 11h ago

“Star”

6

u/ThisIsPureTrash 7h ago

Headline carrying more water than they had during the hydration breaks.

12

u/Quirky-Study-2621 12h ago

What did the 5 fingers say to the face? 

3

u/Scottie2Hottie999 11h ago

Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth?

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39

u/ChampionShark1 21h ago

Star? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

42

u/muradinner 19h ago

This is the guy who ran off the bench towards the English players to mock them after Argentina scored. That's the reason for this, because Bellingham recognized him.

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u/RahDeeDah 1d ago

Think the guys teammate shows there was a reason for what Bellingham did. When he tried to hide behind his teammate, rather than protect him, his teammate just walked away from him.

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u/dotesdoto 1d ago edited 1d ago

Jude didn't slap him. If you zoom in hard enough, you'll see a blurry mess of pixels, and if you look hard enough, you'll see the cable that actually hit the guy.

18

u/backbypopularsupply 1d ago

No sorry, he has sensors in his head that did not register a slap, this is fake news

6

u/greatauntflossy 1d ago

Apparently his hand just grazed the hair, which in FIFA that counts as contact.

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u/paulo_cristiano 1d ago

AFTER REVIEW. THE CHIP IN THE BALL DETERMINED. NO CONTACT.

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u/Romado 1d ago

Yeah he said something in Spanish thinking Jude wouldn't understand it. He speaks fluent Spanish.

We will find out eventually what was said.

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u/alt-frame USA 1d ago

They could never make me hate you Jude

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u/TrackRelevant 1d ago

Normal people: why did he slap him?

Englishmen: He speaks spanish

49

u/DuoRod 1d ago

I'm gonna go ahead and victim blame on this one. My man definitely said some shit in poor form resulting in the slightest of taps.

This is such a non-issue from my point of view. Kid said some bullshit as a benchwarmer and elicited a response from a world class player. Was Bellingham wrong? Yeah. Does it matter? No.

Move on.

13

u/JustCallMeJonny England 1d ago

Yeah there was no power in that. Really reminds me of the slap a parent would give you when you do something daft. Just blown out of proportion because of the environment that it occured in.

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u/Toto_LZ 1d ago

I’ll clout you on the ear

34

u/Major_Road6162 23h ago

Barco isnt a star lmao

8

u/kayet78917 21h ago

genuinely thought that was a ballboy

22

u/aflyingsquanch 1d ago

"First of all, you don't slap a man. Ok. I mean, even when slapping was fashionable, ya know, they did it in Paris, some guy would come up, "WABAP! I challenge you to a duel." They would have a gunfight after that; somebody had to go!" -Charlie Murphy

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u/The_Bard 1d ago

How can he slap?

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u/imtired-boss 1d ago

Can't believe Tuchel bottled again, after all his bottlings in his career.

14

u/glabafe 1d ago

Does the Argentina "star" have a name? 😇

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/joespizza2go 1d ago

Yeah. It's not hard to see that kid saying something offensive in Spanish not thinking an English player would understand him.

17

u/pelipequi 1d ago

I doubt it. He plays in Real Madrid, for sure Argentine players would know that. I also don’t believe the Argentine players said they are champions or may the reigning champions until the final. I actually think it was something about the Falklands/Malvinas… if anything, but who knows. The kid was probably frustrated and stressed out. He played a great tournament IMO. He speaks perfect Spanish. I saw him talking to a Venezuelan handicapped journalist and he spoke beautifully and was kind. He was the only player to stop to talk to him.

9

u/subtlemosaic9 1d ago

I actually think it was something about the Falklands/Malvinas

LMAO! Yall pathetic asses just make up shit in your head of what you want to hear. Something serious fucked up with y'all brains.

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u/ConditionHorror9188 1d ago

That’s a pretty good sledge to be fair, could be better but not bad

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u/Realistic_Lake2843 1d ago

Argentina star??

16

u/Embarrassed_Jerk 1d ago

Of course, the bench warming star

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u/Plastic-Anteater3086 1d ago

He looks like a fucking FIFA youth player gen. 😂😂

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u/logtron 1d ago

Given how strict red cards are given for any contact with the neck or head this year, I wonder if Jude will get a suspension for that.

33

u/Beautiful_Hunt1095 1d ago

If they were consistent with that, Argentina would have had a red card after 5 mins play.

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u/filippojf 1d ago

I hope he doesn't get suspended so he can play in the final.. oh nevermind

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u/marty-97 1d ago

Wtf was that for?

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u/citrus1330 1d ago

will smith did it better

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u/Stillconfused007 1d ago

If you watch the tv footage he’s obviously said something to Bellingham, not that it justifies it.

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u/willrms01 1d ago

No it does. Argentinians can do with a few more for being little shits.

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u/Sambo3002 1d ago edited 1d ago

I really think he thought it was an English player
Edit: Saw the other angle, never mind. I have no clue why he slapped Barco

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u/HarryFuzz 1d ago

You can clearly see Bellingham react to something the ginger twat said. He probably thought he wouldn't understand what he said in Spanish.

27

u/throwawaydollx 1d ago

Literally. I’ve been saying this.

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u/Any-Establishment46 23h ago

show the little gauchito that sprinted off the bench and onto the pitch.

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u/Veyrah 19h ago

Exactly, Barco was being a little rat whilst benches.

17

u/52HzGreen 1d ago

Will Smith would be proud

9

u/Pratty77 Canada 1d ago

Keep my fucking Islands name out of your mouth!

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u/northdancer 1d ago

What caused the slap? Any prior history between the two?

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u/WiggityWatchinNews 1d ago

In the clip, Barca was huddled up with the rest of his team celebrating and Bellingham was standing close by. I imagine Barca said something Bellingham, who knows Spanish, didn't appreciate

16

u/metukkasd 1d ago

I think he was celebrating the goal by mocking Englands bench instead of celebrating with the Argentina squad. Might be something to do with that. But idk might be anything else from the game.

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u/KingCampo93 23h ago

Good man

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u/prvt09 13h ago

is the argentina star in the room with us

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u/WangtaWang 1d ago

Guaranteed that dude said something. Bellingham only reacted after they huddled near him and obviously something offensive was said (Jude speaks Spanish). The Argentina team (and their fans) showed no class even in victory - have no issue with Bellingham slapping this kid. Note - Bellingham and this kid are close to same age

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u/BicensGone 21h ago

Hell yea. Start off his Liverpool career.

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u/Serious-Bake-5714 1d ago

Technically England has another game … they did not exit the tournament they exited the winners bracket and went to the losers err 3rd place game.

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u/Unit27 13h ago

Argentina's star bench warmer...

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u/cabbagerz 1d ago

I just found out it was because Barco celebrating Enzo goal by running towards England players instead of his teammates

29

u/Onuus 1d ago

Romero did it against Egypt.

They’re mostly all cunts

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u/DavidGrandKomnenos 1d ago

It is impressive how many of the Argentinian players look like they rule prison yards

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u/RosePortFC 1d ago

Valentin Barco is not a star lmao. He didn't even play

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u/PsychologicalSign77 1d ago

Should have used his feet to kick the ball into the net instead

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u/NeverRadio 1d ago

Stars typically play in the game

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u/TheFootballPunnedIt 1d ago

But its ok for Enzo to do it in game in front of a ref

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u/johnniesSac 1d ago

They should slap themselves and the coach for that atrocious second half

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u/mrmchugatree 1d ago

That was embarrassing to watch.

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u/j_fish5 USA 1d ago

Star doin a lot of heavy lifting here

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u/Far-Effective-6174 1d ago

Being a sore loser and taking your frustration out on the nearest ginger person. Tale as old as time.

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u/pharmamess 1d ago

Young ginger lad being an angry, mouthy twat. Tale as old as time.

(No offense intended. I have ginger friends.)

4

u/garmannarnar 1d ago

This guy would have voted for Martin Van Buren a 3rd time

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u/CharitySea2692 1d ago

73 fouls & 6 yellows this entire tournament for argentina btw

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/TyoPepe 1d ago

Saw the red mane and thought it was Gordon who just switched teams lmao

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u/thiagobc23 1d ago

Star?? LMAO

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u/SydneyTeacake 1d ago

The kid clearly shouted something. Jude can speak Spanish... Maybe he'll talk about it.

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u/DTripotnik Belgium 23h ago

Starting to like Bellingham

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u/Pepper989 1d ago

How can he slap?!

7

u/drhenrykillenger England 1d ago

At this price point he can hit.

3

u/Donut-Dog-Man 1d ago

HE CAAAAAAAN! At this price point

3

u/Adventurous-Cold-892 1d ago

Oh he definitely CAN hit.

25

u/Gsgunboy 1d ago

My son told me he’s mad that Argentina didn’t even have to cheat. He puts this loss on the coach parking the bus. Which never works. Apparently that’s like playing the prevent defense in American football.

6

u/DoriahLover 1d ago

Prevent defense is the perfect analogy. It never works

3

u/Hour-Employment5412 1d ago

Only on the last play of the game is it any useful to prevent a Hail Mary. That’s it 

5

u/cineami 1d ago

It worked against Mexico. Argentina is not Mexico though

8

u/OrphanGrounderBaby 1d ago edited 1d ago

Especially for 20 minutes!? You think Prevent would work for the whole 4th when up 7? Tha fuck is wrong with the coach.

They were playing so damn hard until they parked it. Like rugby, always be trying to score.

72

u/Ok_Atmosphere_3685 1d ago

You know damn well that little elf said something

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u/Natural_Offer3003 1d ago

Hey Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song and make it better.

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u/Jpsla 18h ago

Bitch slap next. Bring hockey fights to soccer to end this shit.

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u/ImKingFlippyNip 1d ago

Barco was looking over his shoulder when whatever was said was said. I'm neutral but that's an obvious red flag

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u/WangtaWang 23h ago

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u/Mension1234 22h ago

Great point, England fans would NEVER participate in such hooliganism

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u/cbschrader 20h ago

That’s a circle of jerks!

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u/Friendly_Bed_2760 1d ago

Not sure if something was said but the clip I saw was the other guy was turned away and Bellingham slapped him from behind. I get frustrations but very poor from him and could have escalated. Not fair on his team mates who had to diffuse the situation when they’re also hurt from the loss

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u/Additional-Painter88 1d ago

Well done Jude what a lad 

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u/SnooMacarons4225 1d ago

Deserved but also he probably cba playing in the bronze medal match as it's effectively pointless

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u/Active_Dirt8265 1d ago

what the hell, why Barco? the only redhead 😿

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u/FollowTheLeads 1d ago

I need a video before i can take anyone's side. Jude is known to be nice, someone must have provoked him

37

u/amilie15 1d ago

Here’s one; he seems to hug and shake the hand of one Argentinian player first then think he overhears something Barco says.

Definitely makes me think Barco said something pretty bad because it’s not like Bellingham is refusing to shake everyone’s hands etc :/

ETA: it weirdly looks like another Argentinian also starts breaking it up but telling off Barco just after the slap tbh.

16

u/FollowTheLeads 1d ago

See ? Thank you so much kind stranger.

He was willing to shake hands and be gracious to his opponent just fine.

So he wanst like he was targeting the wjole team. Then he seems like this guy said something so that's why he slapped him. Probably forgot Jude Bellingham could speak spanish too.

And the guy that broke them up also told off his companion.

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u/valentinomarachino 1d ago

It looked like the Argentina player said something to him

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u/flying_dodo_wut 1d ago

“I need a video before I can take anyone’s side” (immediately takes Bellingham’s side) hahahahaahhaahha

Idk what happened to be clear, but your comment just cracked me up :)

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u/NoAppointment8679 England 1d ago

Looking forward now to Spain knocking them out the cup 😁

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u/Emotional_Side_2293 1d ago

Star? Is the “star” in the room with us?? It was Barco lol. Still, very odd move from Bellingham

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u/Super-Judge3675 1d ago

that was the only memorable thing belli did in this match

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u/BigBotri 1d ago

He also pissed Messi off in that clip lol I’ll give him that too

3

u/Super-Judge3675 22h ago

That’s true! Biggest mistake to wake the beast

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/ChemBro93 1d ago

Hey Jude, don’t be afraid. Take a sad song and make it better.

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u/Kingmoneyflexx 1d ago

Good, Enzo next the scrub

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u/MealieAI 1d ago

I'll allow it.

18

u/NostalgicRelief 1d ago

“Star”

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u/PmanAce 1d ago

Barco deserved it after what he did celebrating their first goal. Deserved a punch in the face actually.

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u/_aviemore_ 1d ago

How can he

SLAP!

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u/Dry-Presence9227 1d ago

As usual,months ago,another Argentinian player from Benfica throw some racial slurs towards real Madrid players

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u/The_Third_Stoll 1d ago

A “star” that’s only played 25 minutes all tournament, with all of them coming in the group stage game against Jordan

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u/Small_Computer_8846 1d ago

He was hitting a mosquito

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u/dinosharky 1d ago

Why is this news and not wrong tactic from Tuchel loses game for England?

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Pandita666 1d ago

Suspect he said something racist.... we will find out.

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u/Duckstiff 1d ago

Less than what Anderson received and nothing happened with that.

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u/AffectionateRush2620 23h ago

The guy apparently taunted the England bench when they scored their first goal, but there’s was nothing Racist so yeah.

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u/PandaPop81 23h ago

Wasn't even the bench. He ran onto the pitch and celebrated in the England players' faces.

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u/Alarmed-Bass-2343 1d ago

the way nobody cares

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u/congratsballoon 1d ago

At these prices he can slap.

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u/Aymr9 1d ago

I'd like to know why he did that. Everything was fine, until he loses his cool to Barco that wasn't even playing.

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u/MusclyArmPaperboy Canada 1d ago

Yeah that was odd. Anyone know the context?

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u/Inceladus92 1d ago

He celebrated the 2nd goal infront of the england bench apparently. Not seen any video of it yet.

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u/juanimartinez 1d ago

Can people please stop crying one god damn second? Its embarrassing. England did a horrible mach, get over it.

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u/ManBrit 1d ago

Bellingham speaks Spanish, I’m betting Marco said something to rub in the win. Still doesn’t excuse Bellingham’s reaction but it didn’t come from nowhere is my point.

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u/Zadiath 1d ago

He hit Barco because he could't find anyone smaller to try to start a fight.

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u/fretkat Netherlands 1d ago

JC the man is only 1,70m! How is he even a left-back?! I guess they took the dangers of headballs very seriously in Argentina

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u/Onuus 1d ago

ARGENTINA STAR 😭

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u/Confident_Pay2948 12h ago

Deja vu 2006 wc final ?? Ahh the nostalgia ❤️😂

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

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u/Eskanderq 8h ago

I wish he would have done that to the rest of the team too

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u/King_CurlySpoon England 1d ago

Bellingham doesn’t strike me as someone to do something like this for no reason.

And knowing the kind of reputation Argentinians have, I can only assume what was said to provoke him, because there’s no way Jude would do this unprovoked, he’s a genuinely good guy from all I’ve seen

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u/ElLoboNeverDies USA 1d ago

"Doesnt strike you" these men are strangers to you 😂 sure blame the Argentinian for getting slapped. Slow poke

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u/SeniorStandard9492 1d ago

Thank you being sane these people are crazy jude is actually little looser

3

u/ElLoboNeverDies USA 1d ago

They are literally coming up with reasons to justify him slapping the little guy who was on the bench the whole game 😂 i will not let them live this L down. Yes the US was embarrassed but we dont say shit like 'the cup is coming home' lmao

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u/Top-Setting5213 1d ago

Who cares? We're out. Give em a slap. Deserved

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u/Buzzinggg 1d ago

Everyone crying but it’s fine for Fernandez to hit anderson

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u/ElLoboNeverDies USA 1d ago

This is nowhere near the same lmao

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u/UltimateHugonator 1d ago

Of course it's not the same, one was a dirty play to gain advantage on a competition and the other was a display of frustration that was provoked after the game was over.

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u/PhantomBraved USA 1d ago edited 1d ago

Well deserved 100%. Bellingham wouldn't do something like that without good reason.

He shook hands with multiple players beforehand, he's known for good sportsmanship

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u/bluewolfhudson 1d ago

People forgetting that Anderson got literally punched in the back of the head on purpose during the game but that doesn't matter I guess

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u/john_a1985 1d ago

That's just Argentina being Argentina. It's normalized indeed, especially since they keep getting away with it. 

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u/romanningo 1d ago

He just saw red.......hair

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Artistic-Tear3222 1d ago

Luckily Harry won’t be in the next World Cup 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤣 I lost respect for him when I heard he hung with trump

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u/SchleppyJ4 Cabo Verde 1d ago

is he really?

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u/Minute-Appearance588 1d ago

Unfortunately. He was praising Trump and his golf skills

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u/Test21489713408765 Spain 1d ago edited 1d ago

After you have a run like that and fall short it's got to hit hard.

People were talking Ballon d'Or yesterday. You can tell when he was walking toward the locker room and he stopped to look at the crowd, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Understandable, but you still need to keep your hands to yourself. Dude lost it and let it get to him.

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u/Anotherspelunker 1d ago

Who’s the pimple faced ginger

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