Portugal boss Martinez was quick to jump to the defence of his star man, framing the incident as a display of team spirit rather than a disciplinary failure. Martinez suggested that the intensity of the game, while high for a friendly, served as a valuable lesson for the squad ahead of their trip to the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
“Football is full of passion and emotions. Leao’s reaction is normal; it’s to protect his team-mate, he showed team spirit, it’s positive to help a team-mate,” the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference. “Of course, we can’t engage in provocation. What happened is very good because a South American team has many moments like that. We played against Colombia and it can happen. It’s something to learn from. I like the aspect of wanting to help his team-mate, but we need to learn that in football we need to talk with the ball and let other teams try to provoke us.”
The incident originally flared up following a challenge between Joao Cancelo and Felipe Faundez, which led to Leao swiping his hand across the face of Chilean defender Ivan Roman. Martinez expressed hope that a review of the footage would show that the actions were not truly violent, emphasizing that the player’s hands did not go above the shoulders.
Leave a Reply