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Atletico Madrid's manager Diego Simeone engaged in a verbal altercation against Liverpool fans during the UEFA Champions League match. (Photo: AP/X)
The Liverpool fan who is in the spotlight after Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone launch a tirade during their Champions League fixture at Anfield has revealed his version of the story. Shortly after Virgil van Dijk scored the winner in stoppage time, Simeone was sent off with a straight red card after an altercation with Liverpool fans who were behind the dugout.
Asked about the incident later on, Simeone 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,” he said. 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 episode also put the Liverpool fan called Jonny Poulter in centre stage. And following Simeone’s comments, Poulter has explained his side of the story where he also accused one of Atletico Madrid coaches of spitting at him.
“Something I want to get off my chest in regards to what happened last night with Simeone,” he was quoted as saying by Daily Mirror. “I think he’s a bit of a coward, when he went and did his press conference after the game, the Spanish media asked what was said, whether it was racist, regarding the Falklands War and all this rubbish.
“There was nothing racist said, no mention of the Falklands War by me or anyone else. But the fact he was asked and didn’t answer and just walked out has left it open to speculation across the world,” he added.
Other English media outlets had also pointed out that Poutler had received a three-year football banning order in 2015 for abusing a fellow Liverpool fan during Steven Gerrard’s final match for the club. And following the latest incident, UEFA have launched an investigation to find whether any member of Atletico Madrid spat on the fan.
“I’ve had messages on every platform of people asking what I said. I never said anything apart from [gesture with middle finger] ‘f*** off, we’ve won’…as you do,” Poulter said. “When they scored the equaliser, his assistant was giving it to us and he was called a ‘sh**house’ and whatever else. And his assistant manager then came over and spat at me,” the fan added.
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