A TikTok prankster who pretended to be an Argentina fan and provoked England supporters after their World Cup semi-final loss was escorted away by police for his own safety. The influencer, known as Maciej, was surrounded by a crowd of England fans in Piccadilly Circus shortly after the Three Lions' 2-1 defeat on Wednesday night. Wearing an Argentina shirt, he was led away by Metropolitan Police officers who repeatedly told the crowd to 'stay back' as they escorted him to a police van.
Prankster's history of 'ragebaiting' fans
Maciej, who has more than 220,000 followers on TikTok, has a history of winding up supporters. He has posted previous videos 'ragebaiting' fans, including one where he wore an Arsenal shirt among Tottenham supporters. Last night, he also posted footage of himself deliberately approaching England fans while wearing the Argentina shirt.
At one stage, the TikTok prankster was surrounded by more than half a dozen officers before being driven away from the scene. As security staff escorted him away, he asked: 'Can I not support Argentina? What am I doing?' The video ends with him joking to the camera: 'Someone's crying. Who's crying?'
World Cup tensions and clashes
The prank came after England's World Cup dream was ended by Lionel Messi's Argentina. Prior to kick-off, Argentina supporters were seen fighting amongst themselves in the streets of Atlanta, with glasses, tables and chairs thrown across the street. After the match, fights also broke out outside Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and police made several arrests as rival supporters clashed. Extra officers had been deployed for the high-risk fixture amid longstanding tensions between England and Argentina supporters.
