Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has said Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois provoked fans in the stands in Sunday’s (September 29) El Derbi Madrileno. Simeone believes Belgian should have been more mindful of his actions in front of the home stand at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium.
Chaos Ensued in the First Madrid Derby of the Season
Real Madrid made the short trip to the Metropolitano Stadium for their La Liga meeting with noisy neighbors Atletico Madrid. As always, fans did not waste an opportunity to taunt Real Madrid players, especially Courtois, who had two seasons on loan at the club. Courtois seemingly responded to the jeers in the 64th minute right after Eder Militao fired the visitors into the lead. The ex-Chelsea man celebrated by looking at Atletico fans, grinning ear to ear.
In the aftermath of the incident, lighters and other small objects came flying at him, prompting the referee to intervene. He talked to the coaches and suspended play for a few minutes. The break in play seemingly helped Atletico, as Real Madrid lost concentration and eventually conceded through Angel Correa in the fifth minute of added time. Neither team managed to find a winner in the final few minutes of the game and settled for a 1-1 draw.
Atletico Madrid Boss Diego Simeone Suggests Real Madrid Man Thibaut Courtois Provoked Fans
Simeone, who tried to restore peace by appealing to the fans, looked back on the incident, suggesting Courtois caused the situation to escalate.
Speaking to DAZN, he said:
“We all have to help. The people who threw those lighters, as also happened at the Bernabeu when Courtois was our player and he received a lighter on his head, are not behaving well. But we, the protagonists, probably don’t help either when we underestimate people, we burden people, we provoke people and people get angry.
“People have no other way of doing it, in a bad way, which is not right, but we also have to see the place of the protagonist, try to remain calm, understand the situations. You can celebrate a goal, but you can’t celebrate it by looking at the stands, pointing at them and making faces at them, because then people get angry. It’s not justified, but neither is what started out justified because otherwise, we’re always the victim.”
Sunday’s result did not impact the La Liga rankings, with Barcelona (21 points), Real Madrid (18 points), and Atletico Madrid (16 points) occupying the top three spots after eight games.
