Chelsea stars blasted over ‘shameful’ tunnel footage before FA Cup victory | Football | Sport
Chelsea stars have been criticised for appearing to snub the young mascots (Image: X/ChelseaFC)
Chelsea players are facing fierce criticism for their treatment of young mascots at their FA Cup fixture against Hull City. Prior to the match against the Tigers, the Chelsea stars seemingly ignored the opposition’s mascots. The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the Blues posted footage of players, headed by Reece James, marching out whilst completely blanking the young mascots who were excitedly waiting to greet them in their Hull strips.
Whilst the beaming youngsters seemed prepared to interact with the Chelsea squad, they were repeatedly overlooked by the players who strode past without any acknowledgement. Liam Delap appeared to be approaching the lads, but subsequently embraced a Hull team member, having previously been on loan with the Yorkshire outfit during his earlier career.
The Blues’ conduct has drawn condemnation from prominent figures including Baroness Sharron Davies, who posted: “Very disappointing @chelseafc could no one be bothered to even say hello to those young footballers as they passed? Five seconds of their time!”
Former Apprentice contestant turned GB News broadcaster, Michelle Dewberry, expressed her anger on social media: “You should be ashamed your players act like this with little boys. Instead, you’re proud and desperate to share it. Gross.”
Meanwhile, fellow presenter Bev Turner remarked: “Say hello to the children you fools! ! You only kick balls for a living. But you would give these kids a massive thrill. Give them high fives! Anything!”
Supporters have equally condemned the incident, with one remarking: “Not one Chelsea player acknowledging or high-fiving the mascots. Who stole the soul?”
Another commented: “(It would) be nice if they looked at the mascots at all, even a smile, a glance or a wave. Would mean the world to those kids.”
A third wrote: “We have a great video of our overpaid, arrogant and self-centred players walking past a bunch of kids and ignoring them. Great for social content.”
Nevertheless, it’s not known whether the Chelsea squad engaged with the mascots once filming had ceased.
In other developments, Jeff Stelling stated on talkSPORT earlier today: “Chelsea players are getting a bit of stick online for apparently snubbing Hull City mascots on arrival.
The footage was filmed before kick-off in the FA Cup fourth round fixture (Image: X/ChelseaFC)
“You can see the mascots in the background there, all standing to attention, and the Chelsea players do not bat an eyelid and walk straight past.”
Ally McCoist added: “It’s not a good look,” before Jeff continued: “It’s not a good look, is it? Do they need reminding that they have some responsibilities?”
Ally then said: “Never mind not a good look, it’s not good. One of the best I’ve seen at it is Jack Grealish, right? Jack Grealish to me, plays a game with a smile on his face.
“He looks as though he’s very thankful to the opportunity that has been given to him to play football. I just think he’s brilliant, and I don’t know, I’m not watching him all the time, but any time I see him arriving at grounds, he’s always got a word for whoever that is, the guy at the front door, the kids waiting to see them. It costs nothing.”
Ally went on: “You may be underestimating how much it means to people, those kids, for sitting there. Imagine the kid in the playground, ‘You know, so and so came up and said hello to me’.
“I’m loath to use the word wee things like that because those wee things are big things in the grand scheme of things, Jeff. That is not a good look at all.
“What does it take to come out of your way and walk and give the kids a wee high five on the way through?”
Chelsea ultimately won 4-0 courtesy of a Pedro Neto hat-trick and an Estevao strike, securing their place in this afternoon’s fifth-round draw.
