Mauricio Pochettino responds to the 'Argylle' stunt after Chelsea vs Fulham overshadowed by film promotion

Mauricio Pochettino has responded after a bizarre promotional stunt in the stands at Stamford Bridge overshadowed Chelsea’s victory over Fulham.

Cole Palmer’s first-half penalty gave Chelsea a narrow win over their West London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.

Raheem Sterling won the penalty and Palmer dispatched the spot-kick to net his ninth goal since joining the Blues in August.

After claiming their third consecutive victory the Blues have jumped to eighth in the table, while Fulham are 13th, having lost four of their past five matches.

However, the tepid affair was overshadowed by a peculiar promotional device taking place in the stands for the upcoming film Argylle, which is being produced by one of the Blues owner Todd Boehly’s companies.

Spy thriller Argylle is due to be released in February 2024 and stars Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa among its impressive cast.

And to promote the film, at random intervals a group of men donning dark green velvet Mao jackets stood up. On one occasion they held up books, on another they brushed their teeth and on a third, they pointed at imaginary wristwatches.

Each action took place for up to around 30 seconds.

However, the Chelsea boss believed it did not affect the spectacle while adding he hoped to be invited to the premiere.

In his press conference, Pochettino said: “I was aware (of it).

“It didn’t affect the spectacle and today I think we were talking about VAR a few weeks ago and business and football, today it’s open to many different things that can happen but for me, it’s welcome because it does not affect the spectacle and it does not affect the players.

“For the fans, I think it’s nice to see the promotion of the film and I think it looks very very good. They invited me for the premiere.”