Chivas Guadalajara coach Óscar García Junyent has apologized after being caught on camera kicking León’s recent signing James Rodríguez in Tuesday’s Liga MX game.
The Spanish manager was shown a red card in the 27th minute of his team’s 2-1 defeat at León after VAR notified referee Oscar Mejía of the incident.
The game turned ugly when García held the ball and refused to hand it over to León’s Nicolás Fonseca after it had gone out of bounds.
Fonseca pushed García, who lost his balance and fell backwards towards his bench.
García and others on his bench charged towards Club León players and the coach kicked James, whose back was turned. James was not injured.
“In a football game, emotions always run high and the passion for the colors you represent takes you to the limit, but that does not justify my reaction yesterday,” García wrote on Instagram. “I want to offer a sincere apology to the Chiva Nation and, of course, also to the rival.
“Now it’s time to continue working with humility and commitment to achieve what we all want. Let’s move forward!”
The Disciplinary Commission of the Mexican Football Federation has yet to review García’s case.
García, 51, will miss Saturday’s league game against Querétaro through suspension.
