A TikTok prankster who had to be rescued by police after winding up England fans has claimed it was “not the plan” for the stunt to descend into what he called a “riot”.
Maciej Placzek, 22, was surrounded by furious supporters in London’s Piccadilly Circus after England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina.
The Poland-born influencer, who lives in England, was filmed ripping off a Three Lions top to reveal an Argentina shirt underneath before cupping his ear towards the crowd.
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Dozens of fans then moved towards him as drinks were poured over him and he was pushed and pulled in the packed square, as reported by Need To Know.
Metropolitan Police officers rushed in, formed a protective bubble around him and escorted him to a nearby police van.
But Maciej has now insisted the chaos was not what he intended.
Speaking during a livestream on Kick, he said: “Yesterday, I was not meant to be trolling that much.
“That was not the idea.
“I was just there to support Argentina.
“I was there to support the country I was supporting in the World Cup, which is Argentina. To show love for Messi.
“But when I stepped out after the game, it got a bit wild.
“That was not the plan, guys.
“It was not meant to be a trolling stream. Just me watching the game.
“I didn’t know it would be turned into a riot.
“It turned into a f riot.”
His explanation came after he posted footage of his police escort on TikTok with the caption: “Rage bait successful.”
Fresh video filmed by creator @syed_sibtain_ali also appears to show Maciej returning to the area shortly after being released from the police van.
Officers are seen immediately grabbing him again and attempting to move him away as he continues engaging with nearby supporters.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “As crowds were dispersing after the match, officers on duty in Piccadilly Circus became aware of a lone Argentina fan who was being surrounded by England fans.
“They intervened before any harm could come to him, formed a bubble around him and escorted him to the safety of a nearby police van.”
Maciej has more than 224,000 followers on TikTok under @maciej.mp and around 247,000 followers on Instagram.
He regularly posts prank and rage-bait content.
Previous videos have included pretending shoppers on Carnaby Street were eating cat meat and fake vomiting on the London Underground in an attempt to make passengers give up their seats.
He has also previously targeted football supporters, including Tottenham fans following a heavy derby defeat.
Viewers reacting to the footage accused Maciej of deliberately provoking the crowd.
One person wrote: “Kid was provoking. Got off lightly.”
Another said: “Why is he provoking them and deliberately looking for trouble?”
A third commented: “He’s a YouTuber doing a prank video to everyone that doesn’t know lol.”
Someone else added: “He was lowkey looking for trouble.”
Another wrote: “The guy is famous on social media, always starting something. He was winding up and bad mouthing.”
Jam Press has reached out to Maciej Placzek for comment.
“I was supporting Argentina since the beginning of the World Cup,” he told Need To Know.
“I was gonna be in a pub with an Argentina shirt on no matter if I was gonna [sic] be live on Kick or not, because that is who I wanted to win that day.
“I’m a Messi fan for over 14 years, I had nothing planned for after the game.
“I only wanted to come outside the pub and celebrate the Argentina win.
“I like to have banter with opposition fans, and they were bantering back, no one was aggressive first but in Piccadilly Circus it got a bit too far.”
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