David Beckham tried to jump over a barrier to remonstrate with angry fans who jeered him throughout his first game back in Los Angeles.

He was held back by security staff who also had to restrain one fan who rushed towards the former England captain.

Supporters of LA Galaxy accused him of betraying their club after trying to set up a permanent move to AC Milan, who he was playing for on loan.

There had also been rumours of a return to the Premier League with Spurs and, less strongly, with Chelsea, whose manager Carlo Ancelotti was in charge at AC Milan when Beckham was there.

Gallery: Beckham confronts LA fans

To make matters worse, his first game on his return to the Home Depot Centre stadium in LA was a friendly against AC Milan.

A section of the 27,000 sell-out crowd booed 34-year-old Beckham every time he touched the ball and held up signs reading “Go Home Fraud” and “23: Repent”, a reference to his shirt number.

After the referee blew for half time, Beckham tried to hurdle an advertising hoarding and appeared to make a “come on” gesture towards fans.

In response, one man left his seat, jumped down onto the pitch and attempted to run towards him. At this point security intervened and escorted the player to the changing rooms, while removing the fan. Beckham was the last man to take to the pitch in the second half and hugged several of his former AC Milan team-mates before gesturing towards the rowdy section of the crowd.

A line of yellow-jacketed security staff stood between the supporters and the pitch as a precaution.

In the 65th minute Beckham hit a corner cross for a goal. He then turned and shrugged his shoulders at the fans who had been jeering him. He was substituted in the 75th minute and walked off to a mixture of cheers and boos. The match ended 2-2.

He claimed afterward he had tried to shake a supporter's hand when he went towards the fans. “The majority of the fans have been great,” he told Sky Sports News. On the boos, he added: “It's to be expected. I tried to shake one of the guys' hands but he didn't want any of it. That's the way it is.”

Amid the hostility, one section of fans in the VIP seats never wavered in their support: his wife Victoria, Tom Cruise, Kate Beckinsale, impresario Simon Fuller and Take That's Gary Barlow.