English Premier League club Chelsea’s players have been blasted on social media for appearing to snub children mascots before their FA Cup clash at Hull City on Saturday.
Chelsea’s official account posted a video of the Blues squad, led by captain Reece James, walking through the corridors as they arrived at the MKM Stadium before their 4-0 victory against the Championship side.
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The players can be seen walking straight past a group of young children dressed in Hull kits on the side of the corridor.
Only forward Liam Delap, who previously played for Hull, deviated to give a staff member hug.
The video has been viewed more than 10 million times on X and the reactions online have been savage with everyone from former footballers to British TV presenters and the average fan condemning the Chelsea players.
It has also filled their airwaves for hours in recent days in England.
“I’ve seen people turn around and say these are professional footballers preparing for a game, not children’s entertainers,” former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan said on TalkSport.
“But it doesn’t take very much just to acknowledge a kid. I’ve flagged it with Chelsea, the senior guys at Chelsea, and they know it.
“There’s a tacit acceptance that A, digitally, they shouldn’t be proud of putting an image out like that because that’s not quite the reflection they want, and B, the players should acknowledge younger kids.
“There’s a school of thought that says when you actually go to the game, when the kids went out on the field, they were acknowledged by the Chelsea players.
“But the optics of that are not right, you’re in an entertainment business, optics play a part of it, as much as I don’t like it. There’s a tacit acceptance from Chelsea that ‘we need to do a little better.’”
Former Rangers manager and Scottish international Ally McCoist shared a similar sentiment that top class footballers need to be better in their interactions with youngsters.
“It’s not good, never mind not a good look. One of the best I’ve seen at it is Jack Grealish,” he said on TalkSport.
“Jack Grealish, to me, plays the game with a smile on his face, he looks as though he’s very, very thankful for the opportunity that has been given to him to play football, and I just think he’s brilliant.
“I don’t know, I’m not watching him all the time, but anytime I see him arriving at grounds, he’s always got a word for whoever it is. The guy at the front door, the kids waiting to see them.
“And do you know something? It costs nothing, it costs absolutely nothing. It’s amazing, you maybe underestimate how much it means to people, those kids.
“Imagine the kid in the playground, ‘So-and-so came up and said hello to me, patted me on the head’. I’m loath to use the words ‘wee things like that’, because those wee things are actually big things, in the grand scheme of things.
“And that is not a good look at all. I mean, what does it take to come out your way and walk, and give the kids a wee high five on the way through?
“Or, ‘How are you getting on, you looking forward to it?’ Blah blah blah, ‘Who’s your favourite?‘ I don’t know, anything. It’s not a good look.”
Chelsea supporters attempted to defuse the backlash online by sharing a video of their club’s players high-fiving a young fan as they walked past him in the corridor post-match.
They also pointed out that the Blues players acknowledged the mascots on the pitch during the pre-game formalities.
But it has done little to ease the anger, with other football fans digging up old videos like of former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho high-fiving two rows of childrens in the tunnel before a Champions League match.
Fans will certainly demand a different response when Chelsea visit Wrexham, the Welsh club owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, next month in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
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