Chelsea’s Players Criticized for Ignoring Young Mascots

omidbasir- Chelsea recently shared a video on their social media channels showcasing their players’ arrival at Hull’s MKM Stadium for a cup tie on Friday night. However, the clip has attracted significant criticism. In the footage, a group of players, including James, Estevao, Pedro, and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, walked past the mascots without acknowledging them. Striker Liam Delap did stop briefly to greet a member of Hull’s staff, likely a familiar face from his loan period with the Tigers in the 2023-24 season.

This incident led to a wave of criticism directed at Chelsea’s star players on social media. One user, @BevTurner, expressed frustration, stating, “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!! Spoilt wallies…where is your humanity?”

Social media commentator Al Foran remarked, “They could not care less; genuinely depressing how disconnected from reality modern-day footballers have become.”

Former Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies also voiced her disappointment, questioning why no one from Chelsea bothered to greet the young footballers as they passed, stating, “5 seconds of their time!”

Another user criticized the players more bluntly, commenting, “Bunch of c**** not even looking at mascots,” while one account highlighted the issue, saying, “All that’s wrong with the Premier League in about 30 seconds of footage.”

In fairness to the Chelsea squad, they had just entered through a door and may not have anticipated the mascots’ presence, who were standing at the players’ periphery. They later greeted the same mascots before kick-off, as is customary in such events. Interestingly, much of the outrage appeared to be amplified by elements of the UK’s right-wing media.

On the pitch, Chelsea’s performance was commendable, as they comfortably defeated their Championship rivals 4-0. Pedro Neto scored a hat trick, while Delap provided three assists, and Estevao also contributed to the scoreline. Chelsea will learn their round six opponents in the upcoming draw on Monday.

After the match, manager Liam Rosenior praised his players’ professionalism, stating, “What I’m really realizing quickly is not just that they are good players, they are outstanding professionals. This was a professional performance against a very good team pushing for the Premier League. Some of our football was everything I want to see, but before that, the values of what the team stood for made me a very happy coach.”