Luis de la Fuente Condemns Argentina Players' Behaviour After World Cup Win
Luis de la Fuente did not bother to hide his anger.
Fresh from lifting the World Cup for a second time in Spain’s history, the head coach condemned what he called the “intolerable, unacceptable” behaviour of several Argentina players in the chaotic moments after the final whistle at New York New Jersey Stadium.
The trophy had barely been secured when tempers flared. As Spain’s players celebrated on the pitch, Nahuel Molina went for Rodri, while Leandro Paredes clashed with Eric García and also confronted Gavi amid the confusion. What should have been a pure, unspoiled celebration turned briefly sour.
De la Fuente admitted he did not initially see the flashpoints. He was lost in the emotion of the night.
“At the time, I didn’t realise it. I was celebrating, hugging teammates,” he told Spanish television, still processing the scale of what his side had achieved. When he did learn of the incidents, his tone hardened. “It is intolerable, unacceptable, it cannot be allowed.”
This was not a coach looking to inflame a rivalry. He went out of his way to underline the quality of the opposition, even as he criticised their behaviour.
“Players of that stature, whom I praised in the days leading up to the match and continue to praise, who are great players with a tremendous coach,” he said, “surely they must have felt just as bad as we did seeing those reactions.”
The implication was clear: on a stage this big, with careers and reputations forged under the brightest lights, those few seconds mattered.
De la Fuente instead turned the spotlight onto his own squad, and what he felt they got right. He hailed Spain’s “exemplary” response in the face of what he described as “acts of aggression” and “provocations”, insisting his players kept their heads when the situation could easily have spiralled.
In a night that will be remembered for Spain’s triumph, the coach wanted one more message to cut through the noise: his team, he believes, not only won the World Cup, they won the right to be seen as standard-bearers for how champions should carry themselves when emotions are at their most raw.
