‘Cry louder’: Porto coach Conceicao blasted for sore loser act after accusing Chelsea boss Tuchel of ‘insulting’ him
Porto manager Sergio Conceicao has been branded a sore loser after accusing Chelsea opposite number Thomas Tuchel of insulting him after their Champions League clash in Seville.
The alleged incident came at the end of the Portuguese outfit's 2-1 aggregate loss to the west Londoners.
Though the two coaches fist-bumped following the final whistle, Conceicao began complaining to the fourth officials as his players, including bad boy Pepe, confronted Tuchel and had to be separated.
Speaking post-match after hot heads had cooled down, Conceicao claimed that he been "insulted by this man who is next door".
Sergio Conceicao says Thomas Tuchel "insulted" him at full time. Hence the little post-match falling out between the players #UCL
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) April 13, 2021
"I told the referee that the fourth official heard the insults," he continued.
"[But] my English is not perfect, [so] there is no point in talking about it."
"There was no exchange of words because I was focused on the game, I don't know why he reacted," Conceicao added.
"But I didn't understand it very well. I heard some insults, but it's gone... it's not pretty and my irritation in the end had [something] to do with it. I didn't even speak to him," he concluded.
🔵 Chelsea have reached their 8th Champions League semi-final, more than any other English side 💪#UCL
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 13, 2021
Probed on the matter himself, Tuchel attempted to pour cold water on the furor.
"It was just a little argument with me and their coach, and everybody was following me suddenly," the German said.
"No harm done."
Yet while Portuguese newspaper Record are adamant that Tuchel told him to "f*ck off", fans have criticized Conceicao for being a sore loser in the aftermath of a stale tie, which was clinched 1-0 via a delightful late Mehdi Taremi overhead kick that proved too little, too late.
🔵⚪️ What. A. Goal! 🇮🇷 Mehdi Taremi becomes the first Iranian to score in the Champions League quarter-finals 🔥#UCLpic.twitter.com/Tsnn7Jbkhr
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 13, 2021
"Did the insult make him lose the game?," one Twitter user asked.
"This man has been bitter all [the way] through. On the touchline he made some funny gestures [as well]. Let him cry louder!!!!!"
"I don't like Sergio's arrogance," said another.
"If Thomas Tuchel told him to f*ck off, then yeah, f*ck off."
Elsewhere, it was pointed out Conceicao has previous for this given a similar touchline tussle with Pep Guardiola in the group stages, and that he should be punished for his men's blatant targeting of Christian Pulisic.
Christian Pulisic was fouled 11 times by Porto 🤕The last player to win 11 fouls in a Champions League match: Lionel Messi vs. Real Madrid in 2011. pic.twitter.com/4f9N6Aq5Ls
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 13, 2021
Fouled on 11 occasions, this was the most any player had been hacked since Lionel Messi by Pepe's Real Madrid a decade ago, as Chelsea became the first English side to reach the final four a record eight times.
"He should be happy with just an insult. He could've been arrested for trying to kill Pulisic for 90 minutes," remarked one detractor.
"For his wicked tactics of trying to cripple our players, especially Christian Pulisic, he really deserves whatever insult Tuchel hauls at him," said someone else in agreeance.
Also on rt.com ‘We’re going to try to win this thing’: USA star Christian Pulisic says Chelsea want Champions League title following Porto scare