"Simeone's war of words with Vinícius was one of the main talking points after Thursday's game in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which Real Madrid won 2-1 to advance to the final, where they were beaten 3-2 by Barcelona on Sunday. TV footage showed Vinícius and Simeone debating an early Atlético penalty appeal, before Simeone appeared to repeatedly tell Vinícius that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez "was going to get rid of him.""
"However, Simeone refused to respond to criticism from Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, who had said the Atlético coach's behaviour "crossed a line in terms of respect of a colleague" and claimed Simeone "isn't an example of a good sportsman." "I've got nothing to add," Simeone said on Monday when those comments were put to him. Atlético had more shots and possession than Real Madrid in Thursday's semifinal, but Simeone praised their opponents, and Supercopa winners Barcelona."
Diego Simeone apologised to Florentino Pérez and Vinícius Júnior for a touchline row during the Supercopa semifinal, admitting he "didn't do the right thing." TV footage showed a debate over an early Atlético penalty appeal and Simeone appearing to tell Vinícius that Pérez "was going to get rid of him." Both men received yellow cards after exchanging words during a substitution, and Simeone initially said he "couldn't remember" the exchange. Simeone declined to respond to criticism from Real coach Xabi Alonso, while noting that Real deserved to win the semifinal and praising Barcelona as Supercopa winners.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]