Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Julio Enciso has admitted he received a stern telling off from senior players in Paraguay’s Olympic squad after reacting poorly to being substituted.
The Brighton man made the admission to the press in the mixed zone after the 1-0 win over Mali on Tuesday.
Enciso was a part of the game as his country secured their place in the next phase courtesy of the victory but did not complete the full 90 minutes as manager Carlos Jara Saguier elected to take him off in the second half.
That was met with a furious reaction from the Brighton man, who made his opinion clear to anyone watching with a very public demonstration of dissatisfaction.
It was a surprising moment from a player who is not known for his anger but had clearly let his emotions get away from him, perhaps frustrated at being substituted after fighting so hard with Brighton to go to the Olympics in the first place.
And it’s something he won’t be doing again either, having received a stern telling off from the senior players in the group afterwards.
“Obviously I apologised to the coach, I reacted hotly,” he said.
“They were attacking with everything, and I thought that if I had a ball left on the counter, I could take advantage. Then I saw the change and the truth is that I couldn’t believe it.
“The older ones spoke to me; many people have me as a mirror and that way I can give a bad image. I apologise, I’m not that kind of person. I can help the team a lot, I’m feeling very good.”
