Simeone incensed with fan behaviour in Madrid Derby that was marred by ugly incidents by the fans throughout.
Simeone lashes out on Atletico Madrid ultras after fan antics led to a 15-minute stoppage of the Madrid Derby.
After missiles were thrown at Thibaut Courtois during the derby against Real Madrid, which halted play for fifteen minutes, Diego Simeone emphasised that Atletico Madrid “does not need these people in our stands”.
In an effort to urge them to stop, Atletico coach Simeone and captain Koke went up to the south end. Joséma Giménez engaged in conversation with those who were supporting her, some of whom were donning balaclavas. Mateo Busquets Ferrer, the referee, removed the teams from the pitch.
“I hope these people don’t come back to the stadium,” Koke said.
Simeone later aimed a subtle dig at opponent keeper Courtois in his part of allegedly provoking the ultras. “Those of us who are protagonists have to be careful with what we generate, and I include myself.”
The players took to the locker rooms with 68.55 on the clock. This was after the fans refused to budge despite two announcements over the speaker. The step was taken following conversations between skippers Koke and Luka Modric. The players were kept in for 15 minutes, which is more than the La Liga protocol of 10 minutes.
La Liga protocols further imply that the match would be suspended following any further incident, Thankfully for all, that was not the case.
Over the years the Madrid Derby has been marked by fan antics and altercations. Just last year, Vinicius Junior was subjected to racist chants and abuse.
The trouble began when Real Madrid took the lead courtesy of an Eder Militao goal. The source of trouble was the end where the Atletico ultras were. Courtois indirectly instigated the altercation with a pointed celebration towards them. It is worth noting that Courtois was a former Atletico Madrid player.
He first put away a few of the things thrown at him to the side of the pitch. He signalled the referee when others were thrown and tossed aside what looked like lighters. After making the first declaration and motioning for supporters to use their heads, other items, such as bottles and a plastic bag, were thrown.
With Simeone and Koke appealing for the fans to stop, Busquets Ferrer brought the game to a halt. Simeone, on the pitch, had words with Courtois. “I told him to be calm, but I also said that [what he did] absolutely does not justify this: we do not need these people,” Simeone said. “We need to be careful with acting the victim – you see clearly that Courtois went to the fans [gesturing] and laughs and that makes this happen too.”
“The message to them was: think about the club, the team, your team,” Simeone said of those conversations with supporters. “You’re not helping your team. What they were saying was that it was not their fault, that he was provoking them. That does not justify it but I am saying that we have to punish those of us who provoke too.”
“We don’t need these people in our stands. We need people who support us, who think about the club and the team,” Simeone added. “The person who throws a lighter should not come any more. It happened to Courtois at the Bernabéu once when he played for us. It happens and it will happen again. Should it happen? No! But be careful with playing the victim. We have to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”