Marc Cucurella has been labelled football’s ultimate pantomime villain following his role in the Stamford Bridge stampede which saw West Ham brawl with Chelsea FC.
Now, while Neal Maupay might have something to say about someone else stealing his crown, Cucurella was instrumental in kicking off a chain of events which ultimately resulted in a red card for [Jean-Clair Todibo](https://www.claretandhugh.info/jean-clair-todibo-update-amid-injury-fears-west-ham-news/).
Of course, everyone will have seen the footage by now. The Chelsea full-back ploughed head-first into the concrete-like abdominal muscles of Adama Traoré in what can only be described as a rutting-stag oddity — neither rugby tackle nor MMA takedown, as Cucurella attempted to force Traoré into touch with his head in a faux sumo-style move.
Traoré reacted by dispensing with his compatriot, easily throwing him aside and triggering the melee.
The West Ham winger began remonstrating with the linesman before being shoved by João Pedro, which only inflamed Traoré further — at which point the Chelsea forward, erm… well, rather lost his nerve.
Cucurella Admits He Tried to “Stir Things Up”
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And now, from the safety of a podcast, the instigator of the fracas has had his say on his lucky escape.
Cucurella admitted:
“João Pedro saved my life, honestly. If I were João, I would have run backwards.
“It was towards the end of the game. I put my body in a bit, we scuffled, and at one point I stood up and saw I was very close to him.
“So I thought, ‘I’ll stick my head out a little and see if I can stir things up,’ and then he grabbed me, pulled me down, and a real scuffle broke out.”
So there you have it — a full admission that the Chelsea defender deliberately tried to provoke chaos, while West Ham were left to deal with the consequences in the form of a red card.