Cucurella joked that teammate Joao Pedro came to his aid during an altercation at the end of Chelsea’s 3-2 win over the Hammers at the weekend
Bookmark popover
Cucurella and Traore clashed towards the end of Chelsea’s win over West Hamopen image in gallery
Cucurella and Traore clashed towards the end of Chelsea’s win over West Ham (Getty Images)
Your support helps us to tell the story
Read moreSupport Now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
**Your support makes all the difference.**Read more
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has spoken out on his clash with Adama Traore during the Blues’ 3-2 win over West Ham, joking that team-mate Joao Pedro saved his life.
Cucurella clashed with his international teammate towards the end of Chelsea’s dramatic win at Stamford Bridge last weekend in the Premier League, with Traore throwing the Blues defender off the pitch late on before being pushed by Joao Pedro, sparking a 22-man brawl between the two teams.
The incident ended with players from both sides receiving bookings, with Hammers defender Jean-Clair Todibo sent off for grabbing Joao Pedro by the throat.
Traore's shove on Pedro sparked a brawl between the two teamsopen image in gallery
Traore's shove on Pedro sparked a brawl between the two teams (Getty Images)
And Cucurella has now given his thoughts on the scuffle, saying that he wanted to try and stir the pot by irritating Traore late on.
“It was towards the end of the match, I put my body in a bit, we wrestled [for the ball]. There was a moment when I got up and saw that I was very close to him, so I thought, ‘I'm going to stick my head in there to see if I can stir things up’,” said Cucurella on Catalan TV channel 3Cat.
“Then he grabbed me, threw me, and a big brawl broke out! These things happen, I have no problem with it.”
Cucurella then added: "Joao Pedro saved my life, honestly. If I were Joao, I would have run backwards.”
Cucurella joked that he would hesitate to say hello to Traore if he saw them in the street, but host Gerard Romero surprised the Chelsea man by bringing the West Ham forward onto the call, with the 30-year-old explaining that it was “nothing personal”.
“It was in the heat of the moment, nothing more,” explained Traore. “I know he's a good guy and it's nothing personal, it all stays on the pitch.”
“I didn't mean to do it, it wasn't my intention. I just wanted to talk to the linesman,” he added, before Cucurella quipped: “Now I'm calm because there's a screen between us!”