Did anyone notice John Stones’ celebration at the end of the Colombia game?
If you missed John Stones’ reaction to Eric Dier’s penalty, you are forgiven. We get why you wouldn’t want to watch the Three Lions celebrate the win.
Once it became apparent that ‘Football is coming home’ would last until at least Saturday evening, we imagine TV sets up and down the country were switched to standby mode. At least, that’s the feeling I got from the atmosphere in a certain Rathmines bar that was showing the game. When Colombia scored the equaliser, the roar was deafening. When Dier scored the decisive spot kick, the cheers were considerably more muted.
Thousand-yard stare
Anyone who doesn’t fancy watching the England players’ jubilation at the end of the match are in luck. Thanks to Fifa, this article won’t contain any clips. You’ll have to make do with some images. As you can see below, Stones was initially focused on Dier’s finish.
However, as the Man City man began taking off, something else caught his attention.
While he was still screaming his head off, Stones turned back in the other direction. He was still running at full tilt towards his teammate, but he was clearly looking at someone else.
This wasn’t just a passing glance either. It was obvious that Stones was deliberately staring at someone out of shot. He wanted them to know he was looking at them.
Well, well, well.
It turns out that Stones was actually taunting Colombia player Wilmar Barrios. This makes complete sense considering the midfielder was a bit of a villain in the eyes of England.
You may remember Barrios as the man who ‘headbutted’ Jordan Henderson earlier in the game. The incident, which resulted in a yellow card for Barrios following VAR consultation, really split the masses. Some say he was lucky to escape without a red card. Others reckon Henderson should have been cautioned for diving.
Either way, it appears as though Stones still held a grudge against the Colombian by the end of the game.
