Pocho Guzmán clarifies heated incident with Pollo Briseño

Chivas’ 2-1 victory over Cruz Azul caused intense discussion on social media - including a video showing the moment when tempers flared between Víctor Guzmán and Antonio Briseño out on the pitch. The Chivas captain took to Instagram after the match to clear up what exactly was said between him and Briseño at Akron Stadium.

“Just to clarify what happened, whether myself and El Pollo fought. It wasn’t anything like that, it was just because they had provoked El Pollo (Cruz Azul players, especially Uriel Antuna), so he was desperate to get back to the dressing room. But I told him not to go inside, to stay out with the team, to forget about it and let all the tension stay there,” Pocho explained.

Chivas’ coach also offered an explanation about the incident. Veljko Paunovic revealed that he planned for Pollo Briseño to go into the dressing room, as to avoid any event that could get him sent off. A video has circulated in which Uriel Antuna can be seen after the whistle, actively looking for a Chivas player. It has been suggested that he wanted to face Briseño.

“First of all, Pocho does what a captain has to do, he wants the whole team to come out and greet the public after a fantastic victory. Later, there is a misunderstanding because it is an obligation for the coaching staff to look at what is happening. As there was a run-in with El Pollo, we told him to go inside because we didn’t want him to get a red card. It was a misunderstanding and nothing more. Everyone was hugging, celebrating in the locker room as it should be. Once again, it’s a fantastic group”, declared the Serbian coach.

So there was no fight, no bad feelings. When Víctor Guzmán scored the equaliser, he celebrated with Antonio Briseño. There’s no resentment or ill feeling between the two team mates - at least, according to the version of events offered by both Pocho and Paunovic.