La Liga
Suarez denies Koeman’s jab in phone gesture goal celebration
Luis Suarez has declared that his phone call gesture after scoring for Atletico Madrid in the 2-0 defeat of his former club, Barcelona was not aimed at Ronald Koeman.
It will be recalled that the now under-fire Barcelona coach made a phone call to Suarez last year that the Uruguayan’s services were no longer required in Barcelona.
The Uruguayan assisted Thomas Lemar’s opener at the Wanda Metropolitano before turning scorer in a similar move to inflict a first La Liga defeat of the season on the out-of-sorts Catalan giants.
The 34-year-old refused to celebrate after netting against his former club but did appear to send a message to Koeman by forming a phone with his right hand and putting it to his ear before play restarted.
Last year’s phone call by Koeman triggered Suarez’s exit.The phone call gesture was believed to be directed at his former boss. But speaking after the game, Suarez said he had agreed on the gesture with his three children and was not a dig at Koeman.
‘(The celebration) was for the people who know I have the same number, so they know I’m still on my phone,’ Suarez told Movistar. ‘It was something I had agreed on with my kids. It was not for Koeman, not at all.’
In an interview with Spanish radio station, Onda Cero in February, Suarez said: ‘When Barcelona told me that they did not count on me it was hard, I did not expect it.
‘They were very difficult moments because of the manner [in which it happened].
‘Koeman called me and told me that I was not in his plans. When Barcelona made it official that they did not count on me, conversations began with Atleti, with Cholo [manager Diego Simeone], with [CEO] Miguel Angel.’
But accompanying the gesture barely a couple of seconds after scoring was a Mohamed Salah-esque action of clasping his hands together in prayer with his eyes closed.
Suarez insists he had also decided before the game he would not celebrate if he netted against the club for whom he scored 198 goals and with whom he won four LaLiga titles along with a Champions League crown.
‘I also did not celebrate fully out of respect for Barcelona. I knew if I scored I wasn’t going to celebrate,’ he added.
The result nevertheless heaps the pressure on under-fire Barcelona boss Koeman, after following up their Champions League defeat by Benfica in midweek with a league reverse in the capital.
The ex-Everton and Southampton boss was assured of his future by president Joan Laporta just hours before the defeat by Simeone’s men, and insists there is now clarity between them.
When asked about Laporta’s comment earlier in the day that the Dutch coach deserved to be given time, Koeman said: ‘We spoke last night and this morning. We have spoken about the squad and there is clarity.’
But asked if the vote of confidence could have come sooner he added: ‘Yes that could be. But I’m grateful that it’s been said. It’s never too late.’
Regarding his long-term future Koeman suggested he had urged Laporta to back him publicly.
He said: ‘I thought that it would be good to have clarity. But I know results always decide. We have to win our three home games after the international break.
‘I believe that I can improve the situation. We are missing important players. All I have been able to do is get the best of the players we have had available.’
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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