Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong issues apology to Atletico Madrid supporters | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid’s 2-1 comeback victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday was a momentous occasion for the hosts, although it was also a very heated affair. There were several flashpoints during the 90 minutes at the Metropolitano, with one being after the visitors had taken the lead just before the half time interval.

As the Leverkusen players celebrated their goal, scored by Piero Hincapie, Jeremie Frimpong kicked Margarita’s bouquet of flowers, which was laid near the corner of the pitch as a tradition at home matches for the last 30 years.

This action was met with a lot of anger by Atleti supporters, who viewed it as very disrespectful by the Dutch defender. He was angrily approached by defender Jose Maria Gimenez, who was a returnee for Los Colchoneros after injury, immediately after the celebrations. However, he has now admitted that he was unaware of this, and taking to his X account, he has issued an apology to the club and its fans.

Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez in an altercation with Bayer Leverkusen players (Photo by Getty Images)

“After the game yesterday, I learned about the tradition of the bouquet of flowers at the Metropolitano. I didn’t know about it and at the time of the goal, I got carried away with excitement and I made a mistake.

“Sorry to the Atletico fans and especially to Margarita.”

The apology appears to have been accepted by Atleti, who responded to Frimpong’s tweet with an apparent acceptance of the fact that he was unaware of the meaning of Margarita’s flowers.

Things are looking very good at Atletico Madrid nowadays, despite losing their status as La Liga leaders last weekend. A victory in next week’s final league phase fixture against RB Salzburg would ensure that they progress straight through to the last 16 of the Champions League, which would be very good news for Diego Simeone and his players amid the hectic fixture schedule that they will be facing.