CONCACAF Nations League

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre left bloodied in shocking scenes after Honduras defeat

Mexico lost 2-0 to Honduras in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, with Aguirre involved in an unsavoury incident at full time in San Pedro Sula.

JHONY MAGALLANESAFP

Mexico head coach Javier Aguirre needed four stitches in a head wound after being left bloodied by a flying beer can following his country’s 2-0 defeat to Honduras in San Pedro Sula in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Javier Aguirre flips the bird at Honduras fans

Clips showed the former Atlético Madrid manager getting involved in a verbal altercation with booing home fans as the game progressed, with lip readers hardly required to understand the gist of the interaction. Aguirre then showing home fans both middle fingers confirmed the tension.

After the full-time whistle was blown, Aguirre was struck on the head by a beer can as he went to shake hands with the Honduras coaching team, which led to blood streaming down the side of his face. That incident was also caught on camera.

Aguirre’s surprising reaction to beer can incident

Following the game, the 65-year-old sought to play down the incident, simply saying, “It’s football, it doesn’t matter,” in a surprisingly calm post-match press conference.

However, Reinaldo Rueda, the Honduras coach, was rather more forthright when asked about the “pathetic” incident: “I’m said because Aguirre is a human being. This can’t happen. We apologise to the whole Mexican team, to the Mexican public and to ‘professor’ Aguirre”.

In the first leg of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, Honduras, ranked 77th in the FIFA World Rankings, sprung a surprise by defeating 16th-placed Mexico 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from Luis Palma.

Coincidentally, the Hondurans won by the same scoreline at the same stage of last year’s competition, only to be beaten on penalties after losing the second leg 2-0 in Mexico. Aguirre will be hoping for a repeat when the teams meet again in Toluca on Tuesday (November 19).

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