Cesar Azpilicueta arguing with a Chelsea fan.
Speaking to The Sun, Chelsea fan Simon Kerr revealed the details behind the conversation he had with club captain Cesar Azpilicueta after his side lost 2-4 at Stamford Bridge to London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League last weekend.
After the game ended, Azpilicueta was seen chatting to Kerr in what looked like a heated conversation, with both parties raising points and making gestures at each other – possibly about the outcome of the London derby. The Spain international looked visibly upset during the chat with Kerr.
The spectator has now revealed that he had asked the skipper why the team had not shown any fight in the game against the Gunner, shutting down speculation that he was being aggressive or abusive towards Azpilicueta despite extending his arms out towards the player.
“I just wanted to ask him why we hadn’t shown any fight. I know I wasn’t aggressive or abusive – and you can ask the three people I was standing next to in the crowd and the stewards who were there. I didn’t berate him at all or shout. All I did was extend my arms asking what had happened and why we hadn’t shown any fight in London derby.”
Although the result did not make much of an impact on Chelsea’s position in the Premier League table, it did allow for Arsenal to climb up the ladder and add more points to their tally, as they inch towards catching up with the Blues and securing a top-four spot for themselves.
Kerr is a logistics manager who hails from Loughborough in Leicestershire, describing himself as a “die-hard” fan who follows Chelsea home and away. The 53-year-old said that could not believe the attention his encounter with Azpilicueta received, as he was simply trying to have a conversation with the former Marseille player.
He said that he only beckoned the club captain closer as the 32-year-old was not able to understand what Kerr was saying, but denied any stories of either Azpilicueta or him swearing at each other. He insisted that he only asked the Spaniard why there had been no passion or fight in the team in a big game against Arsenal.
“You could see he was angry but I don’t think he understood what I was saying, which is why I beckoned him across. I’ve read a load of nonsense about me swearing at him and him swearing at me – and that simply didn’t happen. But I wanted to ask him, as captain, why there hadn’t been any passion or fight in the team – what you’d expect from a Chelsea team in a big game like Arsenal.”
Derbies like this usually see emotions spillover, and this time, it seems that even the fans got involved as Kerr had a heart-to-heart discussion with Azpilicueta over the result of the match. The Blues went from 2-2 at half-time to conceding two more goals by full-time and had no replies to give Arsenal.
This result came just a few days after Chelsea moved to the final of the FA Cup after beating Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium. Perhaps their efforts against the Eagles drained them out for the derby against the Gunners, which lacked as much fight and determination, as Kerr suggested.
Despite it looking like a heated confrontation between the fan and the player, Kerr cleared the air by saying that there was no abusive language or swearing involved and that it was just a passionate rant from both parties. Hopefully, debates like this stay amicable in the future, if there tend to be more. After all, the fans’ voice is equally, if not more important than that of the club and players.
Luckily for the Blues, they are still in a very strong position to finish in the top four. A loss against Arsenal is pretty bad considering it helps them in their bid for a top-four finish, but if it isn’t them who qualify, then next in line for that same spot are our equally big London rivals, Spurs.
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