Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone was sent off during his side’s dramatic Champions League defeat against Liverpool after clashing with a laughing Reds supporter in the stands
The Liverpool fan who laughed in Diego Simeone’s face before the Atletico Madrid manager flew into a rage and was sent off at Anfield has spoken out.
Virgil van Dijk scored a stunning last-gasp header in injury time from a corner, securing a nail-biting 3-2 victory for the Premier League champions in their first Champions League match of the season. For the fifth game in a row, a late goal earned Arne Slot’s side a thrilling victory. But not everyone was celebrating, including Argentine manager Simeone – the former midfielder who infamously clashed with David Beckham when the England hero was sent off at the World Cup in 1998.
The notorious hothead reacted by confronting Liverpool fans near the away dugout, before he was shown a red card by the referee and had to watch the final moments from the stands. Earlier the Atletico boss and his players had celebrated wildly in front of Liverpool fans after a deflected effort had seen the visitors equalise at 2-2, having been two goals down early on.
Simeone, 55, explained losing his head during his post-match press conference, claiming that he had been “insulted”. He said: “They always talk about taking care of each other, but they insult you throughout the entire match and you can’t say anything because you’re the manager.
“My reaction was unjustifiable, but do you know what it’s like to be insulted for 90 minutes, to turn around after the opponent scores and still be insulted? It’s not that easy.
“[The referee told me] he understood me. I hope Liverpool can improve that aspect and that when they identify the person who did that, there will be consequences.
“There were insults throughout the match, including gestures. It’s clear that I’m the one who has to stay calm, I have to put up with the insults, the gestures and any situation. Because I’m in a position where I have to put up with it.
“I’m not really going to get into the exact nature of the insults. I don’t want to get involved in that. I have got to stay in my place, I know what went on behind the manager’s bench. I can’t solve society’s problem in one press conference. I have to live with it as it exists all over the place all of the time.”
Sharing a video of the incident on X, the Liverpool fan who angered Simeone – named Jonny Poulter – cheekily asked: “Do I get the assist?”
Liverpool fans responded below his post, with one writing: “You are a legend mate.” Another said: “You’re official part of the LFC folklore.”
A third commented: “You deserved free ticket till the end of season dude.” While a fourth said: “You sir are forever a legend. absolutely rattled him.” And a fifth posted: “That’s exactly what fans are the 12th players in the stadium really means!”
Liverpool had got off to a flying start with an early goal from a Mohamed Salah free kick that deflected off Andy Robertson, before the Egyptian winger scored a stunning strike of his own, which gave the six-time European champions a solid 2-0 lead within just six minutes.
Atletico managed to claw one back just before half-time through Marcos Llorente, although there were claims that the goal should have been disallowed for offside. With nine minutes left on the clock, Atletico completed their comeback when Llorente netted his second goal thanks to another deflection.
However, the drama wasn’t over as Van Dijk headed home from a corner in the 92nd minute.
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