‘Isn’t right’: Match halted over fans’ ugly act

Atletico boss Diego Simeone was left pleading with club supporters who threw objects onto the pitch during the Madrid derby as the match was forced to be temporarily suspended.
Brazilian star Eder Militao put Real 1-0 ahead in the 64th minute, with referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer forced to suspend the match just three minutes later.
The suspension saw players removed from the field for 15 minutes after Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois alerted the referee of fans from hurling lighters and bottles at him.
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Atletico captain Koke, defender Jose Maria Gimenez and Simeone were all spotted attempting to mitigate any further action by the fans.
Simeone pleads with fans throwing objects onto the pitch. Nine
Simeone suggested Courtois, who formerly played for Atletico, was partly responsible for the actions of the fans as he celebrated Militao’s goal.
The 32-year-old goal keeper was seen removing the items that had been thrown at him.
“We all have to help,” Simeone told DAZN post-match.
“Obviously the fans throwing lighters – like what happened at the Benabeu, when Courtois was our player, and was hit on the head with a lighter – it isn’t right.
“But we the protagonists don’t help when we provoke the fans and the fans get angry.
“[Throwing things] is wrong, it isn’t right, but we have to stay calm and understand the situation, know how we can celebrate a goal, not looking at the stands, with those gestures.”
Fans were first warned of the consequences of their actions over the stadium speakers before Simeone walked to the goal to make his plea.
Eder Militao of Real Madrid passes Referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer a cigarette lighter thrown onto the pitch. Getty
The game’s suspension was initially declared to be for 10 minutes but was extended to 15 as officials awaited the crowd to clam.
“The message was to think about the club, think about your team,” Simeone continued in his post-match press conference.
“You aren’t helping the team. They said it wasn’t their fault, they said they’d been provoked by the opposition goalkeeper.
“The club will take the decisions they have to take with the fans who’ve committed these incidents.
“We don’t need those fans in the stands, we need the fans who support us and think about the team and the club.
“It doesn’t justify it, but we as protagonists can also help, to make sure people don’t react like that. It doesn’t justify it, but be careful with what we do, myself included.”
Atletico confirmed the club was working with police to identify those involved in the incident, with one spectator already found.
Fans were also seen throwing rubbish and drinks on Courtois’ plaque outside the venue.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti revealed club medics feared Courtois had suffered a small muscular injury towards the end of the game and would undergo further examination.