Revealed: Jude Bellingham’s brutal dig at World Cup referee as unseen footage goes viral – moments before England star slapped Argentina rival following semi-final defeat

Footage has revealed Jude Bellingham reacting angrily to the referee’s “shocking” decisions following England’s World Cup semi-final heartbreak against Argentina.

The Real Madrid star made a point of confronting Lionel Messi’s favorite referee, Ismail Elfath, to share his sorrows after England’s 2-1 defeat last week.

Argentina applied a harsh tactic against England, committing 15 fouls in total, and took its place in the final against Spain, losing 1-0.

Leandro Paredes and Enzo Fernandez were seen to be particularly dirty in the opening exchanges of the match.

Both teams came into the match with an increased sense of competition after Argentina declared that the Falkland Islands belonged to them throughout the tournament.

New footage from the referee’s camera has been released by FIFA and it shows Bellingham telling the referee: ‘Some of it is shocking but it’s the best.’

He was uncomfortable with the decisions taken in Argentina’s favor in the tense match

Bellingham, who scored seven goals for the Three Lions in the tournament, later slapped Argentinian rival Valentin Barco on the back of the head as scenes turned ugly in Atlanta.

In the build-up to the flashpoint, Spurs captain and Argentine defender Cristian Romero was seen goading Bellingham as the final whistle blew.

He walked up to Barco and slapped him on the back of the head.

The full-back then returned and pushed Bellingham, his temper flaring. Nicolas Otamendi also came and pushed the Englishman.

A few Argentine players tried to broker peace but Bellingham and Otamendi appeared to want more head-to-head action even when apart.

During the celebrations, Argentina’s stars unfurled a banner that read ‘Malvinas’. [Falklands] “It is ours.”

Despite FIFA’s ban on political flags, Tottenham captain Romero, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and former Spurs midfielder Giovani Lo Celso celebrated with the controversial banner after the final whistle.

Captain and star player Lionel Messi was also seen dancing next to the banner.

Bellingham was provoked by Argentine star Cristian Romero at the final whistle.

The midfielder also had an argument with Argentina substitute Valentina Barco after the semi-final.

Bellingham slaps Chelsea new player Barco on the back of the head

He also got into a conflict with defender Nicolas Otamendi as other players tried to stop them.

FIFA has launched disciplinary proceedings against this, as well as over Argentina’s conduct following their recent defeat against Spain.

Argentina’s dirty tactics against England and consistent claims throughout the tournament that things were ‘rigged’ in their favor have done Lionel Messi’s popularity no favors on these shores.

Messi is now rated negatively among almost half of those surveyed by YouGov.

This followed his unfounded behavior in the tournament, which resulted in Argentina losing 1-0 to Spain in the final and starting a fight with the opposition. Enzo Fernandez received a red card in normal time and Leandro Paredes was criticized for attacking Eric Garcia and Gavi after the match.

Even Messi was dragged into pathetic antics in the final, trying to get Marc Cucurella sent off after he briefly put his hand over his mouth.

Messi also faced Bellingham in the semi-final, but English fans have to admit that the legend put in a magnificent performance towards the end of the match and set up his country’s goals.

All this had a detrimental effect on Messi’s popularity.

When it came to the World Cup, 55 percent of the public viewed it positively and only nine percent viewed it negatively.

Now only 29 percent see it positively, 44 percent see it negatively.

This means Messi’s net favorability rating among Britons has fallen from +46 to -15, according to YouGov’s poll. In short, people don’t like him very much.

His scoring is much worse than his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, whose net rating is -2.

And he has certainly lost ground with Daily Mail Sport’s veteran columnist Jeff Powell, whose antics put Messi in his top five players of all time.