Ultras continue to embarrass Atlético Madrid

The end of the match between Atlético Madrid and Villarreal was horrendous. Gerard Moreno’s celebration, touching his ears and looking at the nearest camera, is a classic for him and is aimed at his daughters. But it so happened that the nearest camera was near the Atlético ultras, and Moreno’s celebration was misinterpreted. The first to misinterpret it was Oblak, whose recrimination provoked an explanation from the forward that saw Giménez lucky to escape without a card. The ending left an ember of irritation in the stands.

While the Atlético substitutes did some post-match exercises under the orders of fitness coach Ortega, they were insulted. The anger was taken out on Griezmann, against whom there are still scores to settle, and Mario Hermoso, Moreno’s former team-mate at Espanyol, and a former youth team player at Real Madrid. The latter came to confront them and even jumped into the stands in a second outburst when he seemed to have calmed down after the first one. It was a horrible end to the match.

Ultras causing Atlético trouble

Hermoso’s attitude is reprehensible and punishable, but beyond that it is worth remembering that Atlético, brilliant in everything else, have been let down for some time now by their ultras, whom they not only tolerate but also listen to and look after. I fear that, just like Florentino tolerated the ultras while Mourinho was at Madrid, Atlético will not deal with this while Simeone remains in the dugout. This comes at the cost of living permanently on the edge of an outburst like the one that led to a disappointing ending to Sunday’s game.