Chelsea fans have been branded ’embarrassing’ for a tug of war over Nicolas Jackson’s shirt.
Two supporters dived over their seats in a desperate bid to claim the kit, which the striker tossed into the rabble following Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth. One went head first.
A 15-second struggle ensued as stewards intervened before one finally did enough to wrestle it free, stumbling back several steps and crashing into an advertising hoarding.
Jackson’s shirt was clearly a commodity after four goals in his last five games propelled Chelsea to sixth in the Premier League.
‘One of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen. Grown man,’ one critic commented on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Grown men fighting over a mid players shirt embarrassing,’ another concurred.
‘I can’t believe that’s how adults behave over a players shirt, crazy times,’ one wrote.
‘This is the biggest ick in sports,’ one said.
‘Keep the shirt but should be banned from entering the ground permanently,’ another said.
Jackson has settled into Stamford Bridge well after some growing pains and finished the season on a respectable 17 goals.
That’s one more than Didier Drogba managed in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.
He has been criticised for finishing ability but he has made a marked improvement in the second half of the campaign.
That uplift is part of a wider shift at Chelsea which saw them have the fourth-best form after Christmas as their youngsters gelled under Mauricio Pochettino.
Players remain in the dark over Pochettino’s future and multiple approached him at full-time on Sunday to show their appreciation for him.
Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano were at Stamford Bridge, as well as sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
Djordje Petrovic said: ‘For me, personally, I really believe him and the whole coaching staff because they believed in me and gave me the chance. They supported me a lot and they have a relationship with the players where everyone is important, so that is a good thing for everyone.
‘Sometimes if you have 25 players with the same qualities it is difficult to manage everyone but he does it really well. Everyone finds himself in the squad and everyone believes him. We are happy that we have him as the coach.’
