Test for Chelsea and Spurs fans now in wake of despicable behaviour by Argentina duo

Enzo Fernandez: Wikimedia Commons

Have the bridges been burnt down completely or will it all be forgotten before we know it?

Within seconds of Argentina claiming a 2-1 win over England in Wednesday's World Cup semi-final in Atlanta, Chelsea's social media had posted a picture of Enzo Fernandez, ears cupped goadingly, after his late equaliser to dash those Albion hopes.

They weren't reading the room too well. The post was soon taken down.

England fans had plenty of despair to deal with, but a loss when they were just a small step away from reaching the final for only a second time was only a part of it. There was the anger at Thomas Tuchel's bewilderingly terrible tactics, which invited disaster. There was dismay at the way a lead was once again frittered away in a huge game. Then there was the way their opponents behaved.

At times it felt like we were watching 10 psychopaths and one footballer, who had all broken free from a Panamanian jail - all of them smothered with the tattoos advertising their various drug cartels.

Theirs is a seemingly anarchistic approach to life and it can only be decently contained with strictly imposed rules of law. Sadly for this latest FIFA chapter, no such enforcement was forthcoming.

Within minutes Fernandez had executed a calculated rabbit punch on the back of Elliott Anderson's head and like-son-like-dad Giuliano Simeone had made several gratuitous fouls to ensure early intimidation would disrupt the rhythm of play.

None of it went punished by the MLS ref who has always been in Lionel Messi's pocket. He only waved his first card when his beloved son was fouled and he found himself surrounded by the chain gang.

They knew the officials had their backs inasmuch as they would not intervene. Except perhaps in an emergency, such as when Egypt scored against them.

It has been a theme running through the whole competition with suspicions aplenty that the relationship between Gianni Infantino and Messi - a one man cash cow for an organisation that seeks dollars more than anything - has been way too cosy.

The thing about Argentina is that the snarling, spiteful lawlessness does not end at the final whistle. Usually they are just getting started.

They were graceless in the aftermath of defeating England on penalties in 1998. They were similarly classless after beating France in the Qatar final four years ago. Not content to savour their triumph, they wanted to rile their beaten opponents. Witness Emi Martinez and his mocking of Kylian Mbappe, who had scored a brilliant hat-trick past him. Humility is not in their vocabulary. They want respect but give none themselves.

And so we had the sight of Cristian Romero shouting into the face of Jordan Pickford after a goal, an unused sub coming on and charging at Jude Bellingham and other England players to taunt them. And then came the infamous Malvinas bedsheet in supposed contravention of (ahem) strict FIFA rules about political slogans.

You just know there will be nothing more than a token fine at some point.

So what are English club fans to make of their heroes behaving so objectionably and provocatively towards players from the country they have made home and where they earn vast fortunes?

Will Chelsea forgive their captain - who previously had accustions of racism levelled at him which did not curtail his time or status at Stamford Bridge? Did he act the way he did because he does not expect to return to Chelsea?

And what of his fellow psycho Romero - though to be fair they are not the only ones in that team? Talk at the end of last season was of him heading to Atletico Madrid, which makes sense as he can link up with the Simeones and foul to his heart's content. The noise from Spurs is that Roberto de Zerbi may be thinking of off-loading.

But what if both return in August to resume their careers in London. What then? Well, forgiveness is a beautiful thing but should Chelsea and Spurs fans overlook the contempt their heroes have displayed towards their host country? Will they?

My hunch is that club allegiance is basically so all-consuming that, alas, they probably will. The chants of "Argentina, Argentina," will no doubt be as loud as ever at Old Trafford whenever Lisandro Martinez clatters an opponent.

The Matthew Harding faithful will revel in seeing their hard man going about his business in the blue of Chelsea, while Spurs will similarly park any negative thoughts towards their centre half.

Maybe when they appear outside of the grim collective of that despicable Argentina side they don't seem quite so bad, but those fans without the shielding bias of a club allegiance know what they saw and will never forget.