Atletico boss Diego Simeone apologises to Vinicius Jr after mocking the Real Madrid winger
Diego Simeone is well known for his touchline antics but it overstepped the mark against Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has apologised to Vinicius Jr and described his mocking behaviour towards the Real Madrid winger as “not acceptable”.
Simeone and Vinicius fought a running battle throughout the teams’ Spanish Super Cup semi-final last Thursday, a game Madrid won 2-1.
The Argentine told Vinicius that Madrid were going to “get rid” of him, according to images captured by Movistar, and then cupped his ear as if to emphasise the hostile reception afforded by the Jeddah crowd when the Brazil international was taken off in the second half.
Vinicius took exception to Simeone’s actions and shouted a response before a mini scuffle broke out between the two coaching staffs on the touchline.
Simeone says sorry to Real Madrid star Vinicius
Speaking before Atletico’s Copa del Rey clash with Deportivo La Corona tomorrow night, Simone told a news conference: “First of all, I would like to apologise to [Madrid president] Mr Florentino [Perez] and Mr Vinicius for the incident they witnessed.
“Obviously, it was not right of me to put myself in that position, and I accept that it was clearly not acceptable.”
Simeone is renowned for his touchline enthusiasm and his Madrid counterpart was not impressed by his antics in Saudi Arabia.
After the game, Xabi Alonso said: “I don’t like what happened in that moment.
“I saw that El Cholo said something to him. For me, this type of thing crosses the line of respect for a fellow professional. I don’t like when anyone says things like that to my team-mates. I always try and show respect to the opposition players. Not everything goes.”
Madrid advanced to the final which they lost 3-2 to Barcelona yesterday.