La Liga president downplays Vinicius-Simeone altercation in Super Cup semis: ‘Nothing more than an anecdote’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid played out a tense derby last night in the Spanish Super Cup semifinal, with Los Blancos edging out their rivals 2-1.

As is the case with Madrid derbies, there was no shortage of controversy during the match, with the constant altercations between Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr. making headlines.

For most of the match, Simeone was seen chattering away at Vinicius, making unsavoury statements to provoke the Brazilian forward.

The Argentine was constantly referring to the boos received by the winger at the Santiago Bernabeu recently, while also repeatedly stating that he would be axed by Florentino Perez.

Simeone’s antics sparked a strong reaction from Vinicius as well as Xabi Alonso, while Real Madrid too believe that the Atletico head coach crossed a line on Thursday.

Javier Tebas not concerned

However, La Liga president Javier Tebas is far from concerned about the incident as he downplayed the altercation between Vinicius and Simeone as nothing but an anecdote.

“Ask Simeone. I think we’ve talked about it many times. Players and coaches are under a lot of pressure during matches, especially in a game with the level of tension as yesterday’s, and everything happens in those kinds of games,” he said.

Simeone tried his best to get under Vinicius’ skin. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

“You have to understand that these are just situations, nothing more. As Simeone says, these things happen on the pitch and are nothing more than an anecdote. Many anecdotes like this happen every weekend.”

Meanwhile, when asked if he was happy with an El Clasico final in the Super Cup, Tebas added:

“Of course La Liga is happy, as long as the teams that won their previous matches reach the final, and that’s Real Madrid and Barça, why not? This match is one of the best you can see in the world, in an official competition, and it’s Spanish football.

“They are Spanish clubs, and they make the Super Cup, our league, and our competitions great. It’s not incompatible; there’s a lot of synergy between the competitions.”

On the possibility of hosting a La Liga match outside Spain, after his efforts this season were thwarted, Tebas remarked:

“Yes, but not a Clásico. That is impossible in a league competition. Yes, we will continue working on it, and we are getting closer every time and we will do it.”

Source: MARCA