The atmosphere at the Rhyiad Metropolitano was straight out of the Copa Libertadores!
So it wasn’t much of a surprise that the 1-1 draw between Atlético de Madrid and Arsenal, in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, ended with tempers flaring off the pitch in the Spanish capital.
But the reason may have been a little unusual.
English center-back Ben White sparked Diego Simeone’s fury by stepping on the club’s crest while walking toward the locker room.
As he headed toward the exit from the pitch, White stepped over Atlético de Madrid’s symbol – which is on the floor at the entrance to the tunnel 🧐 – an action that was immediately interpreted as disrespect by the Argentine coach.
At first, an Atlético player was the first to try to confront the Arsenal defender, but he was held back.
However, things really heated up when coach Diego Simeone went straight over to the Englishman.
The Argentine manager went after White, tapped him twice on the back, and started a heated argument.
The situation quickly escalated into a fiery exchange, culminating in Simeone shoving the center-back twice.
To stop the argument from turning into a full-blown brawl, members of both teams’ coaching staffs and players had to step in quickly to separate the two and calm things down in the tunnel.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
