Paris Saint-Germain Luis Enrique was involved in wild scenes after his side’s Club World Cup final defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, when he shoved Blues forward Joao Pedro to the ground
Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique has been warned that he could face a month-long ban for his “humiliating” tussle with Chelsea players, as Joao Pedro was shoved to the ground.
The PSG boss stormed the pitch after his side’s 3-0 defeat to the Blues in the Club World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday, with the French side’s dismal performance capped off by Joao Neves’ late red card for pulling Marc Cucurella’s hair.
That led to angry scenes at the full-time whistle, with Enrique becoming embroiled in a tussle between both sets of players, during which he shoved Pedro over.
Attemting to defend himself, Enrique said: “At the end of the match, there is a lot of tension. There was a situation that I believe could have been avoided by everyone. I think that is logical.
“I am going to prevent my players from going any further in that brawl and from then on there is pushing and shoving by everyone.
“I think and I repeat, that is not the best thing to do. It’s the result of the tension, the result of the situation of the match and I have nothing more to add.”
Enrique’s actions were big news back in his native Spain, and the former La Liga referee Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez appeared on Cadena SER to warn the ex-Barcelona boss that FIFA do have the power to ban him from football after the incident.
“Of course, you can be sanctioned. There’s a difference, the red and yellow cards in the tournament will expire. But FIFA can sanction him with time,” said Gonzalez.
“So, if Luis Enrique is given a one-month ban, he would miss any games in that month. What’s more, he wouldn’t even be able to train the team.”
Gonzalez went further, and criticised Enrique for his actions. “You can’t touch an opponent’s face,” he said.
“I mean, that’s already a humiliating issue, that you have to go over and punch a player in the face when the game is over. I don’t look at names, I look at the action, and if we look at the action, it’s punishable.
“We need to be aware because FIFA is above UEFA. If FIFA tells you there are three matches it’s in their competition, but since in this tournament the yellow and red cards end today, FIFA can, on the other hand, sanction players based on time.”