Diego Simeone reveals why Atletico Madrid refused to give Real Madrid guard of honou

Last season's La Liga winners Atletico Madrid recently refused to give a guard of honour to Real Madrid, who won the Spanish league in 2021/22.

Explaining the reason behind the snub, Diego Simeone told reporters: "The reality is what the club said in a press release, explaining perfectly, congratulating Real Madrid above all, the footballers, the technical staff, because they have done a great job.

"We respect Real Madrid, but we have more [respect] for Atletico fans.

"I don't know if this is represented in other world championships. Each society is different.

"The Spanish one has this guard of honour for their rivals, [but] as an example, where I come from I don't use it. We live differently too."

Rivalries do matter in football but in an ideal world, a sense of sportsmanship should be more important.

Interestingly, Barcelona recently gave a guard of honour to Real Betis, who won the Copa del Rey this year.

Source: Goal