Diego Simeone says he was insulted before angry confrontation with Liverpool fan

By Canadian Press on September 17, 2025.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Diego Simeone said he faced repeated insults from the Anfield crowd before being sent off following an angry confrontation at the end of Atletico Madrid’s Champions League game against Liverpool on Wednesday.

The Atletico coach said he responded to provocation from the crowd after Virgil van Dijk scored a stoppage-time goal in Liverpool’s 3-2 win. It sparked a scuffle on the sideline with stewards and members of Atletico’s coaching team all caught up in the fracas.

Speaking through an interpreter after the game, Simeone said he was “getting insulted all game” and he reacted because “I’m a human.”

There were furious scenes at the end of the game at Anfield after Atletico had fought back from 2-0 down and then conceded in the second minute of added time to lose the match.

A large scuffle on the sideline saw stewards try to wrestle control of the situation before Simeone was eventually shown red card by Italian referee Maurizio Mariani.

TV footage showed Simeone confront a fan in the crowd and stewards going over to calm the situation down.

Simeone said coaches were in a place where they don’t have the right to “reply or react.”

The Argentine coach would not say what insults he received.

“I’m not really going to get into the exact nature of the insults. I don’t want to get in that discussion,” he said. “I’ve got to stay in my place. I know what went on behind the manager’s bench. I can’t solve society’s problems in one press conference. I’ve got to live with it because it exists all the time.”

Liverpool coach Arne Slot said he was unaware of what happened.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

James Robson, The Associated Press