Olympic wannabe Becks' fury at half-time substitution

A furious David Beckham gave reporters the silent treatment on Saturday night, storming out after the humiliation of being substituted at half-time during LA Galaxy's 3-1 home defeat to New England Revolution.

The former England captain, 36, has been widely touted for the job of Team GB captain in this summer's Olympic football tournament - but having gambled on continuing his career in the USA rather than returning to re-ignite his playing profile in Europe, Beckham finds his club career at an embarrassingly low ebb.

Golden Balls did not speak to reporters as he left the Home Depot Center after being told by boss Bruce Arena to make way for youngster Michael Stephens at half-time in Saturday's game.

Beckham had looked at making a move back to Europe with Paris Saint-Germain but elected to sign a new two-year deal with Galaxy.

But the defending MLS Cup champions have lost two of their opening three games of the new season, and coach Arena admitted that the decision to haul off Beckham at half-time had angered the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan star.

Arena said: "I'm sure he is not pleased about it, but that's not the issue in the game. I don't know of any players that would be happy about coming out at half-time. I just felt we needed a little bit more.

"We needed to make a change in the midfield. It was purely a coach's decision. If I had 11 substitutions, I would have considered that."