As can happen in any derby in football, the Madrid derby between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in the semifinal stage of the Supercopa de Espana in Jeddah saw tempers boil over. Two already very temperamental figures who wear their hearts on their sleeves were caught up in a vocal spat that involved both team’s players and staff, as Vinicius Jr of Real and Atleti head coach Diego Simeone swapped barbs while the former was being substituted off the field.

In the 80th minute, with Real holding on to their 2-1 lead, manager Xabi Alonso subbed off Vinicius. While the winger left the field, he swapped gestures and words with opposition coach Simeone, and the situation escalated: several Real Madrid coaches including Alonso himself rushed towards Simeone, and had to be held back by officials as the situation nearly turned ugly very quickly.

Following the altercation in that match, the official Atletico Madrid X account posted a rather cryptic message, redirecting the responsibility of the fiery head-to-head back onto Vinicius – a controversial figure in Spanish football already, and one who has had to swallow plenty of criticism from those within Spanish football.

Translated, the post from Atletico reads: “It’s curious how much time some people spend analyzing a reaction… and how little they devote to clarifying the provocation that gives rise to it. The *modus operandi*, yes, that’s a classic.”

In the press conference following Real’s win, Xabi Alonso had said to the press regarding the encounter: “I try to be respectful to the players on the opposing team and I don’t usually address them. When I saw what he said to him, I liked it less. That’s not an example of good sportsmanship. Not everything goes, you have to have respect for your opponent. Everything that happens on the pitch has a limit.”

The prevailing view within sources from Real Madrid indicate that Simeone made personal and hurtful comments towards Vinicius, who is already something of a pariah within the Madrid dressing room and has been prone to react poorly to slights in the past.

What truly went down is anybody’s guess, as both sides present very contrasting views of the situation. The officials themselves took an even-handed view of it, giving yellow cards to both Simeone and Vinicius.

Ultimately, it was Real with the last laugh. Federico Valverde struck early in the game with just over ninety seconds gone, thundering an incredibly well-hit free-kick past Jan Oblak. Valverde would assist Real’s second 10 minutes after the break as Rodrygo evaded defenders and slotted past Oblak. Alexander Sorloth nodded in a header three minutes later, but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation in this match in Saudi Arabia.