Spain Coach Luis de la Fuente Slams Argentina's World Cup Final Behaviour as 'Intolerable'

Spanish Football head coach Luis de la Fuente has come out hard at Argentina, slamming its players’ behaviour as ‘intolerable and unacceptable’ in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s World Cup final.

At the forefront of the rough behaviour were two Argentine players - Nahuel Molina and Leandro Paredes who attacked Spanish players Rodri and Eric Garcia respectively at the New York New Jersey Stadium as the Spain’s players started celebrating their World Cup win. Paradedes also had a confrontation with another Spanish player, Gavi.

This was Spain’s second World Cup win and as soon the final whistle was blown, Spanish players gathered in the middle and started celebrating the win by hugging each other, even as some of their players got involved in a physical altercation with Argentine counterparts.

Speaking about the incident to Spanish television, De La Fuente said, “At the time, I didn’t realise it. I was celebrating, hugging teammates. But in any case, it is intolerable, unacceptable, and it cannot be allowed. Players of that calibre, whom I praised in the days leading up to the match and continue to praise. They are great players with a tremendous coach, surely they must have felt just as bad as we did seeing those reactions.”

He also praised the exemplary behaviour of his own team’s players. Even when they were at the receiving end of the ‘acts of aggression’ and provocations, which he believes could have escalated into more serious incidents.

Although the scenes of the fights were filmed and shared widely on various social media channels, there has been no official action taken yet against the Argentina players. The governing body of football, FIFA has opened an investigation into the incidents to determine whether the incidents are violations of the world football governing body’s disciplinary code.