Atletico Madrid has averted a partial closure of the Wanda Metropolitano for tonight’s Champions League match against Manchester City.
UEFA sanctioned Atletico Madrid for alleged “discriminatory behavior” by some of their supporters during last week’s 1-0 quarter-final first-leg defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
Atletico faced being compelled to close a 5,000-seat part of their stadium for the second leg in Spain, but the club announced on Wednesday that the sentence has been provisionally deferred by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“All members and fans holding a season ticket or seat for tonight’s game will have entry to the stadium,” the club said in a statement.
The CAS judgment is pending a full hearing, which means it might uphold UEFA’s first sanction and impose a partial stadium shut down for a future Atletico Madrid match.
“Atletico’s urgent request to postpone the execution of (UEFA’s decision) was granted by CAS earlier today, recognizing the serious ramifications for local security if the partial stadium shutdown had to be imposed at this late stage,” CAS said in a statement on Wednesday.
Diego Simeone, Atletico Madrid’s manager, stated during Tuesday’s pre-match press conference: “We want our fans to be there because this is a big game.” I’m hoping we can work something out so that it’s equitable for both clubs and that all fans can attend.”
UEFA earlier ordered Atletico Madrid to close a section of their stadium throughout the 2018-19 Champions League season, following the display of a racist banner at the 2018 Europa League final in Lyon.
The La Liga side trail Manchester City 1-0 in their Champions League clash, after Kevin De Bruyne, scored the game’s only goal last week at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola against Simeone: Three managerial encounters – one’s team dominated, the other defended tenaciously. What comes next?
Pep Guardiola used the term ‘prehistory’ when discussing Atletico Madrid’s tactics against Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Diego Simeone has fired back sharply after Pep Guardiola cited ‘prehistory’ while criticizing Atletico Madrid’s tactics against Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Atletico were highly defensive at the Etihad, failing to register a shot on target in their 1-0 defeat, but Simeone and his players asserted during the game that they had a game plan and were still capable of reaching the semi-finals.
Guardiola stated in an interview about that defensive strategy, “They have gone 5-5-0.” Two five-line paragraphs. And attacking a 5-5 is extremely difficult in prehistory, today, and in a hundred thousand years. It is due to a lack of room. Apart from the fact that they are really competitive and have an excellent defense, there is no room.”
After the game, midfielder Koke picked up on the use of the term ‘prehistory,’ posting on social media: “In love with your narrative since prehistory.” “I am proud to be an Atleti”.
Guardiola’s comments were unlikely to be disrespectful or hurtful to Atletico, but the phrase has been picked up by Spanish media, and Simeone was asked about it during his pre-match press conference ahead of the second leg.
