'You all saw it!' - Diego Simeone suggests Vinicius Jr should have been sent off in Clasico for grabbing Frenkie de Jong by the neck
- Vinicius grabbed De Jong around neck
- Referee handed out a yellow card
- Barcelona won 1-0 at Santiago Bernabeu
WHAT HAPPENED? Vinicius appeared to grab De Jong around the neck with two hands while the two tussled for the ball in the first half of El Clasico on Thursday. Referee Munuera Montero only showed Vinicius a yellow card for the incident.
VINICIUS AND DE JONG GET INTO IT 😳
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 2, 2023
It's getting heated in El Clásico! pic.twitter.com/watjFa8Nig
Vinícius Jr. and Frenkie de Jong went at it 😳 pic.twitter.com/tFH3LL70uw
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 2, 2023
WHAT THEY SAID: In a pre-match press conference, Simeone suggested that Montero should have shown Vinicius a red: “You all saw it the same [as me]. Seeing the images, we are asking ourselves the same questions. It goes beyond anything else that I can tell you.
"It's difficult to add much more to what you have seen. It depends, as always, on the interpretation of the referees, on how they understand things in the best way possible so that everything is equal.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Thursday's fixture between the Spanish giants was typically feisty, but Montero was reluctant to go to his pocket, only handing out a combined six yellow cards. Barcelona squeaked out a 1-0 Copa del Rey first leg semi-final win.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT FOR SIMEONE? The Atletico manager will lead his side as they take on Sevilla tomorrow afternoon, with the Rojiblancos hoping to secure Champions League football next year.