Under the cover of apparently “doing the right thing,” I think that Diego Simeone shamed himself, his club and LaLiga on Sunday during and after Atlético Madrid‘s heated, controversial 1-1 draw with Real Madrid.
By now, you’ve no doubt seen that the derby was temporarily halted because of a hail of objects thrown at Madrid keeper Thibaut Courtois, and that the eyes of the footballing world were turned to how that ugly situation was handled. There was brief danger that the Madrid Derbi, arguably LaLiga’s biggest game of the season to date, would be abandoned — a draconian, historic step, albeit one that, at the height of the ugliness, was beginning to feel merited.
One of the saddest things was not only how Simeone behaved and spoke, but the fact there will be nobody (bar you and I) to hold him to account. He’s so central and so important to Atleti that it’s unlikely he is either reprimanded or punished. Yes, it’s true that the Argentine manager talked about the need to expose and expel some of those hooligans who pelted Courtois with lighters and coins, among other things, but both his mid-match actions and his subsequent words deserve critical scrutiny.
Before the frenetic, ferocious match was halted and suspended for over 20 minutes, Madrid’s players drew the attention of referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer to the objects being thrown. Then, as Courtois was about to take a free kick in his own penalty area, he stopped, showed the referee that there was still a shower of lighters being thrown and that was that. Announcements were made over the sound system to warn the fans that the game was in jeopardy — first, suspending the game and then, if the behaviour continued, a full abandonment — and then the players sent into the dressing rooms.
Simeone’s unacceptable behaviour began when, after being involved in efforts to persuade fans to stop throwing things, he went to Madrid’s keeper and with very clear sarcasm, signalled to the stadium that he, Simeone, held Courtois to be partly responsible for what had happened.
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His appointment for this match was heavily criticised when announced on Thursday. He’s young and inexperienced, this was his first Madrid derbi and frankly, he’d made two pretty big errors a week earlier when Villarreal lost at home to Barcelona. But he’s talented, the referee committee had faith in him and he duly excelled.
Icily calm, he followed the protocols to the letter, offered clear communication, behaved decisively and looked like he was born for crisis-management. Full kudos.
And finally, a “thank you” to the real Atleti fans who, when the team went back postmatch to applaud the very section of the ground where the offending fans had been standing behind Courtois’ goal, booed and whistled that section — and the players for going over to them.
The vast majority of Atleti fans are ferocious and loyal, but fair and admirable. If only Simeone had their conscience and realized that the way to keep Atleti mighty, relevant and respected is not to appease the offending fans, but to isolate them, hold them culpable and ensure they aren’t allowed back, without seeking to pass the buck to an opponent.
