Atletico Madrid have dismissed claims that coach Diego Simeone insulted referee Jesus Gil Manzano and intimidated Neymar during Wednesday's controversial Copa del Rey clash with Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon.
It
has been reported that the Argentine swore and made an offensive
gesture during a heated confrontation with the match official during the
half-time break at the Vicente Calderon.
Simeone was also
accused of cornering double goalscorer Neymar in conjunction with club
captain Gabi, who was dismissed by referee Gil Manzano for his actions
during the interval.
Rojiblancos boss Simeone described the claims as "big lies" during a press conference on Friday
but now Atletico have got involved, issuing a club statement not only
voicing their support for their under-fire coach but also midfielder
Gabi.
"There have been various reports in various media relating
to our coach, Diego Pablo Simeone, that are totally false," the Spanish
champions claimed.
"Our coach and our captain Gabi have been
accused of having cornered and intimidated a Barcelona player in the
dressing room of the Vicente Calderon. This information has nothing to
do with reality and cannot be confused with any similar act that could
have happened.
"It is completely false and from the club will
not allow the reputation of our coach and our captain to be stained by
such falsehoods.
"In addition, there have also been some images
which have created the misunderstanding that Diego Simeone made a
dismissive gesture towards the referee.
"Our coach called Jesus
Gil Manzano on his failure to award a penalty for handball from a shot
by Antoine Griezmann. He does several times and, at the end of the
sequence, he touches his forearm touches to reaffirm his complaint. At
no time does he make the gesture interpreted by the media.
"Our
coach, whenever he has made a mistake, has never shied away from
admitting when he has done so. Therefore, we will not accept him being
accused of acts that he did not commit and that are completely false."
The
second leg at the Calderon was tied at 2-2 when Griezmann's strike
appeared to strike the arm of Jordi Alba. The referee waved play on and
Barca broke to make it 3-2 on the night, and 4-2 on aggregate.
Gabi
was then dismissed during angry scenes at the break, while Mario Suarez
was sent off for a second bookable offence in the dying minutes.
However,
Arda Turan was also involved in a controversial incident early in the
second half when he appeared to throw his boot at a linesman. The
midfielder avoided retrospective action over the incident, though, as he
was booked by the referee at the time.
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