H. Ricard demands Benfica player apologise for call-up: he was wrong | OneFootball

could once again become an option for the Colombia national team, after being away from international duty for more than a year. The Benfica forward has not been called up since June 2025, in a situation that has now once again become a topic of discussion in the South American country.

Officially, the player left the training camp at the time due to a lower back problem. However, reports in the Colombian press pointed to an alleged dressing-room incident, during which Durán - who was recently praised - allegedly assaulted head coach Néstor Lorenzo during an argument with a teammate.

Hamilton Ricard, a former Colombia international, believes the forward must take the first step to resolve the situation: “He has to apologize. Accept that he was wrong and made a mistake. That is not being foolish, nor does it diminish anyone; it is being great. If something happened and the person apologizes, the doors open. We all make mistakes, and if Jhon Durán picks up the phone and says he was wrong and wants to be part of the process, the doors will open for him. He is an excellent player and all of us have made mistakes at some point,” he told ESPN.

Alberto Suárez, Envigado’s coach and one of the key figures in Durán’s development, has meanwhile presented a different version of the incident. According to the coach, he asked the forward directly about what had happened and received assurances from the player that he had not assaulted Lorenzo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.