Diego Simeone sent off after Atletico bench appears to interfere with play
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone found himself sent to time out in Saturday’s win against Malaga, after players in his dugout appeared to engage in a bit of mischief.
With the game goalless and in the waning minutes of stoppage time of the first half, Malaga started a break down the sideline. As Ricardo Horta took off with the ball at his feet, another ball came flying into the field of play from the Atletico bench.
INCREDIBLE. Did the @Atleti bench throw a ball on the field to prevent a @MalagCF counter attack?! #LaLiga https://t.co/dv53UNqMe4
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) April 23, 2016
It narrowly missed Horta, but didn’t seem to throw the Portuguese midfielder off as the attack eventually broke down. There’s no telling if it was intentional or not (what’re the odds, though?), but the hijinks got Simeone banished from the touchline anyway, according to the Associated Press.
With Atletico, Real Madrid and Barcelona all vying for the suddenly wide-open La Liga title, every point is absolutely precious. But actions like this to try and get an upper hand are bush league. Atletico ground out a 1-0 win, despite Simeone’s punishment.
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