"Very Disappointing" and "Arrogant" Chelsea Stars Scolded as Young EFL Mascots Ignored

“Where is your Humanity?”: Blues Stars Under Fire for Ignoring Hull Mascots

Mascots have played a part in some of football’s most hilarious moments – remember the Chelsea mascot who trolled Steven Gerrard all the way back in the mid-2000s? Or when a Swansea mascot couldn’t believe his eyes when Wayne Rooney took his place next to him?

In the tunnels ahead of kick-off, time with the player represents a potential once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these young mascots. An opportunity to hang out with some of their heroes should be an experience to savour.

However, ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup clash with Hull City on Friday, the young Tigers fans were treated to a not-so friendly reception by their Premier League opponents.

“Bunch of **s”**

The online berating of Chelsea was sparked by a video taken in the hour before their decisive 4-0 FA Cup fourth-round win over the Championship side – it was a professional job, with Chelsea looking locked in from the start, but it appears that pre-game, they were too locked in for their own good.

Arriving in Hull. 👋#CFC | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/xY367NS9qR

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) February 13, 2026

As Liam Rosenior’s side arrived at the MKM stadium and walked through the back corridors to their changing room, they were being awaited by a few Hull City officials and staff, as well as six young mascots, who, going by the footage, are positively bouncing to meet some members of the Club World champions.

Typically, members of the opposing team would at least register these young sets of eyes and offer a high five or something even as minimal as a thumbs up, sending the youngsters wild with delirium.

Not Chelsea, though. As they walked past the mascots queueing up for a glimpse of their Premier League heroes, there was not a flicker of recognition from a single Blues player, with the likes of Reece James, Willian Estevao and Andrey Santos walking by without comment.

Only Liam Delap showed any hint of interest, and even then, he simply greeted a member of the Hull staff, who he likely remembered from his 2023/24 loan spell, and quickly moved on.

The video, which was initially posted across Chelsea’s social media pages with the caption “Arriving in Hull”, quickly garnered hordes of negative attention online, with fans branding the Blues players a “bunch of ****s” and “spoilt wallies” and asking in spite, “Where is your humanity?”

Dear @ChelseaFC - teach your overpaid men-children to at least wave at the kids as they walk by and grow a personality.

— J-Lo (@LSAtherapy) February 15, 2026

In truth it looks as if the players were slightly ambushed – hidden around the corner, they would have had little idea that a meet and greet was in order and, rightly or wrongly, they decided to swerve the unexpected obstacle by simply ignoring it.

But it’s not a good look for the club – it takes very little effort to make a young fan’s day, and though the Hull kids kept their excited demeanour throughout the video, it’s fair to say that the experience would have been significantly more memorable had there been some genuine interaction between them.

One hopes that the Chelsea player’s will learn from this – after all, football players are treated by many as role models, and as soon as their actions differ from how they are perceived in the public eye, there is the potential to become very unpopular.