During the Madrid derby last month (1-1), Diego Simeone pointed out the attitude of Thibaut Courtois, whom he considered just as guilty as the supporters who overflowed. “Regarding the people who committed these incidents, the club will have to make a decision. We don’t need these people in the stands, we need supporters who support us, accompany us, think about the club… As protagonists, we must act so that they don’t do it. It happens because people react for something. This cannot be justified, but we can also punish those who provoke people. Let’s be careful with what we generate, and that includes me. For me, we must punish those who provoke. We punish the one who throws the lighter and they also punish those who provoke (…) It happened to him at the Bernabéu when a lighter hit his head while he was still playing for Atlético de Madrid. This shouldn’t happen. Clubs need to make sure this doesn’t happen, but watch out for us becoming victims. For what ? Because if we charge, there can be a reaction, and we cannot provoke, whether it is Simeone, Courtois, Vinicius, Messi or Griezmann.
A few weeks after this meeting, the Belgian international was invited to respond to his former coach. “I respect his opinion, but I do not share it. We have another idea of what a provocation is. It is the organizations that must decide and they have already done so. I don’t want to add anything more.” Relaunched on the subject, Courtois kicked in before discussing the case of the ultras. “The important thing is that there can be no violence. In Belgium, I experienced a lot of situations like this. Those who cheer for their team and create a bit of rivalry, I have no problem, I like it, it gives me more adrenaline. But everything is based on respect for those who play and there can be no violence. Sometimes there is a bit of play between a player and a supporter, that’s normal, I have no problem with them.” Simeone had his answer…
