Levi Colwill and James McClean: Chelsea and Wrexham players brawl in pre-season friendly

Recently, Premier League club Chelsea and League One outfit Wrexham faced off in a pre-season friendly. However, it did not begin as intended, when Levi Colwill and James McClean began to tussle on the pitch - just two minutes after the encounter kicked off.

The fight took place after McClean shoulder barged the Chelsea academy graduate when he was playing a simple sideways pass. Colwill felt that McClean was too forceful and stood his ground - he pushed the Republic of Ireland international and grabbed him by the collar. McClean responded by taking a handful of Colwill’s shirt - the pair required their teammates to separate them.

Due to the non-competitive nature of the game, the referee did not issue any cards and the match continued as normal after tensions had simmered down. Had this taken place in a competitive game of football, it is likely that one or both of the players involved would have been sent off for their actions.

McClean has been a Wrexham player since 2023, having scored three goals in 37 league games for Phil Parkinson’s men. Previously, he has turned out for clubs such as West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic and Stoke City.

Colwill, meanwhile, has been at Chelsea his whole career, outside of loan spells with Huddersfield Town and Brighton. He made his first start in the Premier League in 2022 and has made 23 league appearances for Chelsea since this.

The game between Chelsea and Wrexham surprisingly ended in a 2-2 draw, with the Blues being unable to overcome their EFL opposition. Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring in the first half, only for Luke Bolton to level the scores in the 58th minute. The Red Dragons took the lead soon after this with a goal from Jack Marriott, but a late effort from Lesley Ugochukwu spared Eno Maresca’s blushes.