After Eder Militao opened the score, the meeting between Real Madrid and Atéltico de Madrid then got carried away when Thibaut Courtois received projectiles on the head from the stands of the Wanda Metropolitano. The game was initially simply stopped so that the Belgian could remove the objects from the field, but notify the stadium announcer. Tempers nevertheless became heated between the former Chelsea goalkeeper and Koke because the Real Madrid goalkeeper refused to clear the ball as long as he was receiving projectiles. Bottles, sandwiches, fries, cups, lighters, bags filled with excrement… The match was finally stopped for around fifteen minutes and the two teams returned to the locker room: “I’m just a coach, I have to evaluate and control the sporting aspect. There are people more expert than me in making the right decisions», preferred to temper Carlo Ancelotti in a press conference, after the draw conceded (1-1) in this 8th day of La Liga.
The Atlético players and Diego Simeone went to see the supporters to calm them down. Koke but also José María Giménez came to the foot of the stand to chat with those present in the stands. The Spanish community has also returned to these incidents in complete transparency: “Moment of great tension, this cannot happen on a football field, we are professionals and we have to know where we are and be intelligent, but for four we cannot pay. Players also need to be smarter. Protocol said yes “the incident that ended the match happened again“, he declared after the meeting. Atlético de Madrid coach Diego Simeone also reacted: “We must help everyone. Courtois when he was an Atlético player also suffered at the Bernabéu. You have to seek calm and understand the situation. You should not celebrate the goal in front of the supporters like Courtois did. What happened is not justified, but neither are these kinds of celebrations. It’s not good, but people are getting angry. Often we need to calm down. We can also help more and don’t. But the amateurs who did it no longer come“.
“Atlético has a serious problem”
Obviously, the press was much less tender with this episode, starting with the newspaper MARCA who writes: “Atlético has a serious problem in the south stand of the Metropolitano, where characters who go to football hidden under balaclavas continue to live. In this derby, lighters were thrown, which caused the match to be suspended for a quarter of an hour. Referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer was impeccable in giving a recital on the Metropolitano pitch during his first Atlético-Real Madrid match. He was perfect in directing the pitch and managing the game, remaining calm at all times and making a courageous decision when it came to suspending the match for throwing objects at Courtois“. But that’s not all since the Spanish newspaper continued its analysis of the situation.
In any case, Mateo Busquets Ferrer was praised by all the Spanish press for his management of the meeting. He did not allow himself to be overwhelmed by the escalation of violence in the stands and enforced La Liga regulations to the letter: “And we can’t say that he didn’t warn him. He applied the protocol perfectly and from the first outburst, he understood what was going to happen with this interruption. The lighters continued to fall and the referee sent everyone to the changing rooms, exposing the hooded men who live in the South Stand of the Metropolitano. The image of Giménez and Koke chatting with the ultras who are watching the match hidden behind balaclavas reflects Atlético’s problem in its stadium. A problem that should have been solved many years ago“, continued journalist Juan Ignacio García-Ochoa. If La Liga has often experienced scandalous episodes because of certain supporters, the two teams banged their fists on the table.
Same story with A.S. who did not miss the opportunity to return at length to the excesses. There is no doubt that the Spanish league will take up the matter: “What lies at the foot of the Metropolitano is embarrassing. It was a derby that took place cleanly and without incident. But they insisted on staining him with an unpresentable attitude and throwing objects that sought the head of Thibaut Courtois. Some are even masked. It’s unfortunate», declared on X Tomas Roncero, journalist at the newspaper A.S. who often collaborates for the show El Chiringuito. His colleague at A.S.Eduardo Iturralde González, said on the radio: “Nobody blamed the referee for his attitude. The coaches understood it and that’s it. This is a big step forward: pointing out radicalism and endorsing the referee’s decision“. This Madrid Derby will leave its mark.
