José Antonio Noriega, director of Rayados de Monterrey He told what happened to him after the match against Inter Miami in the first leg of the Concachampions quarterfinals, in which it was said that There were incidents on the way to the locker room with various players from the local team.
Various media reported that Messi, Luis Suárez and other players attacked or insulted the central referee, the defender Nicolás Sánchez, the coach Fernando Ortiz and some directors of Rayados and Concacaf.
Days after this, “Tato” Noriega He recounted what he experienced at that time and confirmed the incidents; In his case, the main aggressor was Jordi Albaalthough Messi He also approached him to complain in a “heated” manner.
“I felt like someone grabbed me by the back of the neck and squeezed me, and when I turned around, it was Jordi Alba,” told for ESPN.
“I had serenity in that moment and with the commissioners next to meto tells: ‘Look what is happening, it is unacceptable‘”, he noted.
Regarding the incident with Messi, he said that it happened while he was talking to the refereeing body to ask them to record these events in their minutes.
“It was when Lionel Messi came to argue with me and a dialogue was generated in which on his part it was very intense and heated.“He said, ensuring that he never lost his cool despite the Argentine’s claims.
Rayados was dissatisfied with the sanction
Noriega insisted that from the moment of the incidents he was very clear in asking the referees to record everything that happened, something they supposedly did, although once the $15,000 fine the manager and his team They were not satisfied, since they expected an exemplary punishment.
“We do not agree with the amount, it seems to us that it has been something much more delicate, it does not even touch footballers who engaged in unethical, unsportsmanlike acts,” he stated.
And he recalled that at the time the commissioners witnessed everything, so he was surprised that there was not a major sanction.
“They observed everything, and we discussed it; Then we had the opportunity to have communication and tell them: ‘Hey, we can’t accept this kind of thing, how is it possible that physical contact, in a violent, defiant way, remains without consequences?’ she noted.
Regarding the justification that Concacaf gave to Rayados in the matter, he explained:
“The argument they give us is that the case did not escalate, nor did it lead to beatings, which worried me.a, because in some way they are letting us know that perhaps I should respond to that aggression,” he established.
Finally he evaded the question if the names of Suárez, Alba and, mainly, Messi, influenced the fact that the sanction was not so rigorous.
“I do not know but What we saw was uncomfortable and disproportionate. What would have happened if one of our players grabbed one of their managers by the throat?“, he concluded.
Keep reading:
· Rayados defeated Inter Miami in the first leg of the Concachampions quarterfinals without Messi on the field
· Fernando Ortiz confirms exchange of words with Lionel Messi
· Rayados beats Inter Miami in the series and will seek a place in the Concachampions final
· Inter Miami players criticized the state of the Rayados de Monterrey field