Soccer
Diego Simeone criticises Thibaut Courtois' Madrid derby behaviour: "You can celebrate, but not by looking at the stands and making gestures"
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Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has hit out at the behaviour of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois following their 1-1 draw in La Liga.
A dramatic Madrid derby was marred with missiles thrown onto the field of play following Éder Militão's 68th minute strike put Real ahead.
With objects raining down from the stands of the Cívitas Metropolitano, aimed at Courtois, the referee was forced to stop the match for several minutes to ensure the safety of the goalkeeper.
Atlético players were seen heading towards the stands to plead with fans to stop to allow the game to carry on, while Simeone approached Courtois to try and defuse the situation, while also appearing to give him a piece of his mind.
Once order was restored, the game continued with Atlético grabbing a stoppage time equaliser through Ángel Correa.
Diego Simeone critical of Real goalkeeper Courtois
After the match, Simeone spoke to DAZN Spain and did not hesitate to point the finger at French stopper Courtois.
"We all have to help. Obviously, the people who threw those lighters, as also happened at the Barnabéu when Courtois was our player when he received a lighter on his head, are not doing well," said the Atlético Madrid coach.
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"But we, the protagonists, probably don't help either when we underestimate people, we burden people, we provoke people and people get angry," he added.
"People have no other way of doing it, in a bad way, which is not right, but obviously we also have to see the place of the protagonist that we have, try to remain calm, understand the situations ," he explained.
"You can celebrate a goal, but you can't celebrate it by looking at the stands, pointing at them and making faces at them, because then people get angry. It's not justified, but neither is what started it all justified, because otherwise we're always the victim," he said on DAZN.
Simeone calls for stadium ban for fans
The Argentine coach also spoke out against the section of fans who threw objects at Courtois.
"We have to try to identify those who have been there and make sure they don't come back, because we don't need this type of people ," he continued on DAZN.
"We need the people who encourage us, the people who are there, the people who support the team, because they are very important to us.
"Whoever did it, let them not come again, we don't need that kind of people."
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