Thegoalmac can reveal that Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone
has defended the decision to go ahead with Sunday's 2-0 win over
Deportivo La Coruna as he claims the club were unaware of the tragic
violence going on outside the Vicente Calderon.
It was confirmed after the 2-0 win - in which goals from Saul and Arda
Turan allowed the reigning champions to close the gap at the top of La
Liga to four points - that a man had died after clashes between fans of
the two Spanish teams.
The Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP),
which runs the Primera Division, claimed they tried to get the match
cancelled due to the violence but to no avail.
However, the
thought to cancel the league game never crossed Simeone's mind as he
insists he was not informed of the severity of the situation in Madrid.
"I
speak sincerely, I was not aware. I listened to people, but was not
clear what was happening," the Argentine coach told reporters.
"I
am hurt by the situation we are living with. I do not have any
arguments as to why it happened. We are sad - this sort of thing has
nothing to do with football and hopefully it's not repeated.
"These are people who wear football shirts but are not real fans. It is a problem with society."
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo, meanwhile, saught to distance his own
club and Deportivo from the violence, condemning the "radical groups"
from dragging the game through the dirt with their actions.
"I
would like to say these facts have nothing to do with football," he told
reporters after the match. "They are radical groups, they meet and
generate these consequences.
"Deportivo chairman and myself have
nothing to do with the facts. We preach peace and harmony among the
teams. We have said this long time ago. We come here to enjoy, not to
have this consequences.
"We can't anticipate the facts because
we unknown them and are under investigation. I repeat Deportivo and
Atletico have nothing to do with these facts.
"These are radical groups with their stories and their outstanding matters."
Really sad, may the soul of the departed fan rest in peace.

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