The reaction to Marcelo Bielsa allowing Aston Villa to score an equaliser, after Leeds United’s controversial goal, has mainly been met positively.
It’s been seen as the right thing to do, keeping up fair play, and giving a good example to the world of football. Another nice tick on El Loco’s CV.
However, it’s not gone down universally well. Certainly not in Argentina.
There have been long opinion pieces, one even asking if Bielsa would have allowed England to score a goal after Maradona’s handball at the 1986 World Cup.
For example, Argentine journalist Pablo Gravellone has explained: ‘I felt very identified with the Leeds captain who wanted to avoid the goal while his teammates were standing still. Moreover, if I had been the captain of the team I would have given the armband to the coach and I was leaving the pitch for not sharing his determination.
‘I would not feel represented by a leader who asks me to deliver a goal. Much less if the circumstance did not merit it. I do not disagree with the gesture of returning a goal. On the contrary, I think Fair Play is very important. But in this case I do not think it has been well used.’
That’s a fair and relatively calm response, even if many would disagree.
One man who isn’t calm is Horacio Pagani. He works for TyC Sports, one of the biggest sport media outlets in Argentina, as a pundit.
There was a whole show on the Bielsa decision, and Pagani was so fuming he stormed out of the studio.
As Mundo point out, that wasn’t before he’d shouted: “The Leeds captain has to ask Bielsa to leave. I propose that all those who defend his actions are locked away forever. You cannot ask your team to give away a goal.”
It’s worth pointing out that much of the Argentine media seem to be mistaking Pontus Jansson as Leeds United captain.
If you want to see just how angry Pagani has managed to make himself, the video is below.
¡Y hasta que Pagani se fue! pic.twitter.com/XfDqcakBn9
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) April 29, 2019
