Simeone apologises for touchline row with Vinícius Jr in Super Cup
By BBC, January 12, 2026Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has apologised to Vinicius Junior for his behaviour towards the Real Madrid winger during their Spanish Super Cup semi-final.
Simeone made comments to the 25-year-old Brazilian winger from the touchline, with the Argentine reportedly suggesting Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would be offloading him.
Vinicius, whose contract runs until the summer of 2027, helped his side beat Atletico 2-1 in last Thursday’s semi-final before Real Madrid were beaten 3-2 by Barcelona in the final in Saudi Arabia.
Not asking forgiveness
“I would like to apologise to Mr Florentino and Vinicius for the incident they witnessed,” said Simeone.
“It was wrong of me to put myself in that position, and I accept that it was wrong. The team that wins deserves to go through; they deserved to go through.”
Simeone also appeared to exchange words with Vinicius when the forward was substituted after 81 minutes.
Asked if his behaviour had crossed a line, Simeone added: “I apologise, but I do not ask for forgiveness. I have nothing more to add.”
The Brazilian was among the goalscorers as Los Blancos suffered a 3-2 loss to Blaugrana on Sunday in the Cup finale in Jeddah.
Vinicius Jr equalised two minutes into three of added time, nutmegging Jules Kounde on a brilliant run before sliding into the far corner to score his first Real goal in 17 games, since 4 October, 2025.
Robert Lewandowski then clipped in off the post to restore Barca’s lead in the 49th minute.
But Gonzalo Garcia hooked in three minutes later after a scramble in the box that saw Dean Huijsen’s header hit the bar, as Barca boss Flick protested the the half-time whistle should already have been blown.
Frenkie de Jong was shown a straight red card in stoppage time after lunging in on Kylian Mbappe, who came on as a substitute having recovered from a knee injury.
Late chances at both ends made for a nervy final with Marcus Rashford shooting wide when clear, while Alvaro Carreras and then Raul Asencio both shot straight at goalkeeper Joan Garcia.
But Barca held on to secure a second consecutive title for the first time since 2011.