Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois took a dig at his former club Atletico Madrid and its manager Diego Simeone for “victimhood” and “crying” following their Champions League last 16 second leg tie on Wednesday.
After losing 1-0 in regular time which meant a 2-2 draw on aggregate, Los Blancos prevailed 4-2 in a penalty shootout to set up a quarterfinals showdown with Arsenal.
The evening wasn’t without controversy, however, with Julian Alvarez scoring his effort yet deemed to have double touched the ball by VAR which meant that his penalty was ruled out.
With Toni Rudiger netting the winner following misses from Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez on either side of the ball, coaches Carlo Ancelotti and Diego Simeone were asked about the incident and unsurprisingly had different views.
Simeone lost his cool with the media in a post-match press conference and asked for a show of hands from those that had seen Alvarez touch the ball twice.
In his own meeting with reporters in the mixed zone, Courtoist then laid into the Argentine and his former club.
“UEFA sees it clearly,” the Belgian said. “I’m fed up with this constant victimhood and crying about things like this. The referee doesn’t benefit any team, neither in Spain nor in Europe. I think they saw it clearly and that’s why they called it that way. They’re human beings and can make mistakes, but with the technology of the VAR room, they saw it clearly.”
Courtois also suggested that Atleti only had itself to blame for not going for the jugular when taking the lead on the evening.
“If you’re winning 1-0 from the first minute and then don’t go for the second, that’s probably where the mistake of their game lies,” Courtois, who is now on the road to a third UCL title in Madrid’s colours, added.
The ever outspoken Courtois’ remarks will make him no more popular with Atleti fans, who have already defaced and removed his commemorative plaque outside the Metropolitano and threw objects such as lighters at the shotstopper which caused play to be halted during a September La Liga derby at the same ground earlier this season.