Thibaut Courtois (foto: Getty Images)
Thibaut Courtois has hit back at Diego Simeone's complaints over Atlético Madrid's Champions League exit, accusing his former coach of playing the victim.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has delivered a sharp response to Diego Simeone, who was vocal in his frustration over a disallowed penalty during Atlético Madrid's Champions League quarter-final defeat.
Simeone criticized the referee’s decision to overturn Julián Álvarez’s penalty due to a double contact with the ball. Although Atlético still had a chance to recover in the shootout—after Jan Oblak saved a penalty and Marcos Llorente had a chance to level—the decision changed the momentum of the contest.
Courtois: "The referee made the right call"
Courtois defended the referee's decision, insisting that the rules were applied correctly:
"I felt something was off when he took the shot, so I told the referee to check the footage. It was confirmed that there was a double contact with the ball, and the penalty was rightly disallowed. Álvarez slipped, touched the ball twice, and that means it's an invalid penalty. He was unlucky, but those are the rules."
However, Courtois had harsher words for his former coach Simeone, who continued to protest the call after the match.
"Simeone says it wasn’t fair? I think UEFA knows exactly what they’re doing. I’m tired of him always playing the victim and constantly whining about these things," Courtois said.
With tensions already high between the two Madrid rivals, Courtois' remarks are likely to fuel the ongoing feud between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.