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Simeone Shoves Arsenal Sporting Director in Touchline Flashpoint

Arsenal sources say Andrea Berta was signaling for full-time, framing the clash as a misunderstanding.

Overview

  • Match footage shows Diego Simeone approach and lightly push Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta near the tunnel Tuesday, and staff and the fourth official stepped in to separate them.
  • People at Arsenal told Mundo Deportivo that Berta was signaling that stoppage time had ended rather than trying to provoke Atlético.
  • After full-time, Simeone walked across the large Arsenal crest by the tunnel, drawing notice because he had confronted Ben White last week for stepping on Atlético’s badge in Madrid.
  • The confrontation had a personal layer since Berta worked at Atlético from 2013 and became sporting director in 2017 before moving to Arsenal in March 2025.
  • Arsenal reached the Champions League final on May 30 in Budapest and there have been no widely reported disciplinary outcomes from the touchline incident.