Atletico Madrid 'do not need these people in our stands,' says Diego ...
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has insisted "we do not need these people in our stands" after ultras disrupted the Madrid derby and forced a 15-minute stoppage.
Courtois, a former Atleti player, turned behind him to celebrate the goal. Spectators in the stand, where Atleti's ultras congregate, responded by throwing what appeared to be lighters at him.
Courtois threw them to one side and Simeone and two other players got involved, urging the supporters to desist, but the situation worsened, with bottles and a plastic bag thrown onto the pitch. Two loudspeaker announcements failed to stop the disruption and referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer gave the order for the players to leave the pitch in the 69th minute.
Simeone described the incident as "unjustifiable" but also apportioned some blame to Courtois.
The Atletico manager spoke with Courtois on the pitch as his captain Koke and defender Josema Gimenez attempted to get the supporters to stop; Gimenez appeared to be doused with water as he spoke with a man in a balaclava.
“I told him [Courtois] to be calm, but I also said that [what he did] absolutely does not justify this: we do not need these people,” Simeone said afterwards.
“We need to be careful with acting the victim – you see clearly that Courtois went to the fans [gesturing] and laughs and that makes this happen too.”
The game resumed after a 15-minute stoppage, longer than the standard 10-minute stoppage in the La Liga rulebook, which Busquets Ferrer had initially ordered.
No more disruption followed and Atleti's performance improved after the restart. Angel Correa eventually rescued a point for his side with a 95th-minute equaliser - initially ruled out by VAR but reinstated - before the delayed game finished at 11.11pm local time.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said the referee's decision was "correct" and Atleti captain Koke said, “I hope these people don’t come back to the stadium.
“They felt provoked but that doesn’t justify it and it cannot happen,” he added. “We should be talking about the football and I hope it doesn’t happen again. This cannot happen: four, five, six, 10 or 20 people have stained the image of the club.”
Simeone was more circumspect. He said afterwards that he had told the ultras, “The message to them was: think about the club, the team, your team. You’re not helping your team.
"What they were saying was that it was not their fault, that he was provoking them. That does not justify it but I am saying that we have to punish those of us who provoke too. Those of us who are protagonists have to be careful with what we generate, and I include myself.
“We don’t need these people in our stands. We need people who support us, who think about the club and the team. The person who throws a lighter should not come any more. It happened to Courtois at the Bernabeu once when he played for us.
"It happens and it will happen again. Should it happen? No, but be careful with playing the victim. We have to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Atleti released a statement on X deploring the incident, which read: "Atletico de Madrid wishes to express its rejection of the throwing of objects that took place from a section of the south stand in the 68th minute of the match vs Real Madrid.
"The club's Security Department has been working with the police to locate those involved, one of whom has already been identified. The club will apply the internal regime foreseen for very serious cases to the people involved in this incident.
"These attitudes have no place in football and tarnish the image of a stadium that has experienced a spectacular atmosphere with more than 70,000 spectators in the stands, the vast majority of whom have shown exemplary behaviour."
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