Chelsea fans have taken to social media to criticise Arsenal forward Kai Havertz, who appeared to ‘shush’ fans after scoring a first-half goal, which was later ruled to be offside.
Blues fans claim the gesture was disrespectful considering the forward is a former player, and that the goading unnecessary.
But Gunner fans have jumped to the German international’s defence, saying he had every right to react that way considering how he was treated by fans during his time at the west London club.
The incident happened in the 32nd minute of Chelsea’s home clash with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Havertz had run onto a quick free-kick taken by Declan Rice and put his shot past Blues keeper, Robert Sanchez.
The forward then put his finger to his lips in a ‘shushing’ motion to celebrate, drawing the ire of the home fans who perhaps had the last laugh when VAR intervened to adjudge the goal offside.
Kai Havertz’s drew the ire of Chelsea fans with his offside goal celebration at Stamford Bridge
Fans from both teams were quick to get into a heated argument about Havertz’s celebration, which ultimately centred around Chelsea supporters’ feelings about their former player.
A post on X sparked the debate, with one fan writing: ‘Kai Havertz shushing the Chelsea fans when they stood by his awful performances for so long is nothing short of comical. A bang average player who had one big goal, was a complete waste of space, and who couldn’t fit into any position. Pathetic.’
This was followed by an attack at the player, which said: ‘He needs to keep his ego in check’.
One user offered a strong defence for the former Blues player: ‘Chelsea fans bullied the guy making scapegoat out of him and even made the Matter more irritable by bullying and trolling him when he was struggling at Arsenal. It’s easy to throw player under the bus for likes and impression’.
Another pointed towards the relationship between player and club: ‘I haven’t seen a nice comment from a Chelsea fan about him so can understand it’.
While one Chelsea fan offered a more measured assessment of his time at Stamford Bridge: ‘He wasn’t bad for us but he has taken his game to the next level. One thing I like about him is he works hard’.
The game between the two London clubs finished evens at 1-1, with goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Pedro Neto meaning both clubs take a point each on Sunday evening.
Kai Havertz scored the only goal in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final
The 25-year-old spent three years at Stamford Bridge between 2020 and 2023, making 139 appearances across all competitions. He joined Arsenal in June 2023 for a reported £65million.
But despite a respectable return of 32 goals in that time, Havertz was a target for criticism from Blues fans, who feel he didn’t quite live up to his potential as a consistent goal threat after joining from Bundesliga club, Bayer Leverkusen.
A career highlight for Havertz came during his tenure at Chelsea – he scored the only goal of the UEFA Champions League final in 2021, when the Blues beat Manchester City to win their second European Championship.
