Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales and Under-21 international Sergio Gomez criticized England’s behavior during Saturday’s European Under-21 Cup final.
England beat Spain 1-0 to win the trophy for the first time in 39 years through Cole Palmer’s free kick, which was flicked on by Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, proving the difference in an emotional match.
Cole Palmer celebrated England’s goal in front of the Spanish bench, sparking a brawl between the two teams that later saw Spain fitness coach Carlos Rivera and England assistant coach Ashley Cole receive red cards.
Further clashes between the two sides came as both teams headed into their respective dressing rooms at half-time, and again at the full-time whistle after England keeper James Trafford saved late spot kicks from Abel Ruiz, England’s Morgan Gibbs-White and Spain’s Antonio Blanco. both got a red card in the final minutes of the second half.
Gomez, who joined Manchester City from Anderlecht last summer, said in an interview with Cadena SER: “That surprised me. He [Palmer] didn’t want to apologize or anything like some of his other team-mates. I don’t know, I’ll celebrate. in a different way and my team-mates will also do it in a different way.”
“They [England] have the attitude they want to have. It’s not the first time something like this has happened with this team. We have tried to represent our country in the best way and have the utmost respect for all our rivals. They wanted to celebrate like this and also after the penalty failed,” he continued.
Cole Palmer admitted he may have gone too far with his celebration while speaking to Channel 4 after the final whistle.
“Obviously, it means a lot. It’s been a lot of work over the last few years for this moment and it’s coming so I’m excited,” Palmer said as quoted by ESPN.
“I was a little frustrated with the way they came down and screamed [at the start of the match]. The celebrations were maybe a little over the top but [I was] happy,” he continued.
Spanish FA president Rubiales was also unimpressed by England’s behavior during a game which saw seven players receive a yellow card from referee Espen Eskas.
Those are unimportant things, I’ve spoken to whoever I have to talk to, said Rubiales . “These players are already boys and some moves [from England] could have been avoided.
“Here, we train not only football players but also people. It was almost inevitable to be provoked, but the RFEF [Spanish FA] people behaved very well. We know how to win as we showed with the Nations League and when we lose, we shake hands with our opponents.”
