Argie bargy: brawl mars victory
German and Argentinean players were involved in an ugly on field confrontation following the hosts’ victory in their World Cup quarter final.
Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff claimed the trouble began when German defender Per Mertesacker was kicked by Argentinean defender Leandro Cufre.
“I saw Per Mertesacker fall to the ground,” Bierhoff said.
The former AC Milan striker was shown in the midst of a melee of players on the pitch.
“I was just trying to get in between the players,” Bierhoff said.
“I didn’t want any of them to get in trouble and then be suspended.
“It is a pity. The fans in Germany have shown that they can interact in a friendly way, so players and team officials should set an example.”
German midfielder Torsten Frings was direct in his views on the matter.
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Going down fighting |
“They gave us a few kicks. Argentina are unfair and can be bad losers,” he said.
Argentina coach Jose Pekerman was unfazed by the event “I think it was a spontaneous situation arising from a very emotional moment.”
Despite not playing a minute of the match and his side being out of the tournament Cufre was shown a red card by Slovak referee Lubos Michel for unsporting behaviour for his part in the brawl.
FIFA said it would look into the incident but declined to say whether disciplinary action would be taken.