CARSON, Calif. — David Beckham offered no explanations or apologies for the way he confronted an angry group of Los Angeles Galaxy fans over the weekend.
“It’s not a setback for myself. It’s other people that have to change,” Beckham said Thursday. “It’s not about whether I can move on. I wasn’t the one booing.”
Beckham confronted Galaxy fans in a group called the L.A. Riot Squad during Sunday night’s 2-2 exhibition tie with AC Milan.
Members of the Riot Squad booed and jeered him during the game and displayed banners saying, “Go Home Fraud” and “Is Evil Something You Are or Something You Do?”
“Of course, I don’t like my son seeing that and hearing that,” Beckham said. “From an organized group of fans, I think it was disrespectful.”
At halftime, Beckham walked toward the group while shouting and pointing. He challenged fans to meet him on the field and tried to lift himself over advertising boards before security intervened. Police arrested a fan who left the stands.
Then, after taking a second-half corner kick in front of the Riot Squad’s section, Beckham immediately turned to those fans, put his index finger to his lips, shrugged his shoulders and blew them a kiss. The kick resulted in a goal.
“At the end of the day, I play my game,” Beckham said. “If it’s not good enough for some people, as long as it’s good enough for myself and the team, nothing else matters.”
The Riot Squad, responding on its website, blamed Beckham for agitating the situation.
“Had David responded differently on Sunday, the booing and the chanting probably would have ended at halftime,” the group said. “We don’t believe questioning Beckham’s commitment to our team is over the line, but it’s clear that David feels otherwise.”
