Diego Simeone Refuses to Comment on VAR Controversy, Instead Focuses on Upcoming Champions League Fixture

Diego Simeone Refuses to Comment on VAR Controversy, Instead Focuses on Upcoming Champions League Fixture

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:10 PM
In this article:
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Spain
  • Atletico Madrid drew with Real Sociedad over the weekend but had a potential winning goal disallowed by VAR
  • Atletico Madrid players were upset with VAR after it denied them a goal but allowed Real Sociedad's goal to stand
  • The UEFA Champions League gets underway this week, but Atletico Madrid have serious injury concerns

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone refuses to focus on the VAR decision that cost his side victory against Real Sociedad in La Liga over the weekend.

Both sides shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, but Atletico players felt hard done by the result.

Diego Simeone, Refuses, Comment, VAR Controversy, Focuses, Upcoming, Champions League, Fixture, Sport, World, Soccer
Diego Simeone is focusing on Atletico Madrid's upcoming match against Porto and didn't want to comment on the VAR controversy that denied his side victory over the weekend. Image: Denis Doyle
Source: Getty Images

Atletico striker Alvaro Morata had a goal ruled out after Joao Felix was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up.

Los Rojiblancos then had further reason to be upset with the VAR system when Real Sociedad’s Umar Sadiq scored after the halftime break.

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The Nigerian striker’s goal came under scrutiny as it appeared to hit his hand following his header before landing in the back of the net.

Despite a VAR check, the goal was allowed to stand. While the Atletico players criticised the decision, Simeone focused on the positives instead, Tribal Football reported.

He added that it was a pity that the goal was disallowed but praised his team for their great work on attack and defence.

Simeon has not turned his attention to the upcoming UEFA Champions League encounter against FC Porto.

The Spanish side will take on the Portuguese giants on Wednesday. As reported by Football Espana, Atletico Madrid could have just 16 available first-team players for Wednesday’s game.

Sergio Reguilon, Stefan Savic, Felipe Monteiro, and goalkeeper Jan Oblak are some big-name players who are unlikely to be available for the Champions League clash.

Álvaro Morata and Umar Sadiq score as Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad share the spoils in La Liga

It took Alvaro Morata just five minutes to break the deadlock in Atletico Madrid’s game against Real Sociedad.

Morata struck from a corner, pouncing on the ball after hitting the post and then landing in his path.

Sociedad then had better chances to not only equalise but also to take the lead. Mohamed-Ali Cho, also known as Momo Cho, terrorised the Atleti left flank and created great chances for his teammates.

Authors
Byron Pillay photo
Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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