Jude Bellingham shares his side of the viral confrontation that seemingly triggered Lionel Messi

Jude Bellingham downplayed what appeared to be a serious confrontation with Lionel Messi during England’s 2-1 loss to Argentina in the World Cup semifinals.

Bellingham and Messi were seen going at it during a stoppage of play in the first half. At the end of the sequence, both players walked away, with Bellingham shrugging off Messi, who made a meme-worthy facial expression to mock his English counterpart.

“We were discussing a foul, actually, Bellingham explained. “It was nothing bad. I’m sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal (out of it). But it was nothing big really.”

“I thought there was a foul earlier, and he said: ‘What about the one on me?’ I said: ‘You’re strong enough to take it.’ You know what I mean? It was a privilege to play against him; it was nothing like that against him. I’m obviously on the losing side, which hurts a lot. But a privilege to line up against one of the best,” he added.

MORE:Lionel Messi earns ‘big moment player’ praise after Argentina reaches FIFA World Cup final

Jude Bellingham’s frustrations boiled over after England lost to Argentina

After the viral first-half altercation, Lionel Messi went on to tee up Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez to complete Argentina’s late comeback against England, leaving Jude Bellingham, among others, in dismay.

Given how the Three Lions lost the match, Jude Bellingham did not appear to take it well, as the 23-year-old midfielder capped off the heartbreaking defeat with a heated exchange with multiple Argentine players in the minutes after the final whistle blew.

Bellingham had to be held back after he slapped substitute Valentin Barco, who ran onto the pitch to celebrate for Argentina. The Real Madrid star could face action from FIFA’s disciplinary committee for violent conduct.

If this is the case, there’s a strong possibility Bellingham will miss Saturday’s bronze-medal match against France in Miami. However, it feels like FIFA will likely consider this as an act of petulance rather than violence.