Michail Antonio found himself assailed from all fronts after a night to forget in West Ham’s loss to Chelsea, including from the club’s shirt sponsor.
In a tweet posted on their official account Betway, whose name has been on West Ham’s shirts since January 2015, labelled the 26-year-old “an accident waiting to happen in defence”.
The official account added that West Ham fans “will hope that’s the end of the experiment”.
Antonio gave away a penalty early in the second half of his side’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, conceding possession to Cesar Azpilicueta on the edge of his box before bringing the Spaniard down. Eden Hazard was to convert from the spot whilst the auxiliary defender was swiftly substituted.
Slaven Bilic has named Antonio as a starting full-back in each of West Ham’s three competitive games this season, with his options severely limited by a long-term injury to starting left-back Aaron Cresswell.
Antonio also found himself deployed at right-back in the closing months of last season having enjoyed his greatest success as an attacking midfielder, from where he scored crucial goals in victories over Tottenham and Everton.
