Kalvin Phillips’ loan spell at West Ham took a turn for the worse following a heated confrontation with fans captured on camera after their 4-3 loss to Newcastle on Saturday.
Since joining from Manchester City in January, the English midfielder has struggled to find his form and his performance was marred by conceding a controversial penalty shortly after being substituted on at St James’ Park.
Despite the Hammers leading 3-1 at the time, Alexander Isak converted his second penalty of the match and Harvey Barnes scored a brace to secure the victory for the Magpies.
A video circulating on social media shows a spectator shouting “Useless!” as Phillips boards the team coach after the game. Once inside, Phillips can be clearly seen raising his middle finger towards the fans through the windscreen. West Ham has chosen not to comment on the incident.
When asked about his decision to bring Phillips on in the second half, West Ham manager David Moyes stated, “I believed that adding an extra midfielder would provide us with more control in the middle of the pitch at that moment. However, clearly it didn’t work.”
Moyes further commented, “At the time, I felt that they were slightly the better team. We were up 2-1, then 3-1, but from that point onwards, we needed to defend well, be stronger, and make it harder for them to play against us.”