At 9:00 p.m. at the Civitas Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, the city derby between Atletico and Real began. The first half of the derby was largely disappointing. Both teams managed two shots on target, but neither created a clear scoring opportunity.
In the 64th minute, Eder Militao broke the deadlock, scoring past Jan Oblak after an assist from Vinicius Jr. Real's goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, reacted emotionally to the Brazilian's goal, turning towards Atletico's hardcore fan section and celebrating.
This infuriated the most passionate Atletico supporters. In the 67th minute, following an Atletico offensive play, Courtois picked up a lighter from the pitch and handed it to the referee. The referee gave it to the match official, who recorded the incident in the match report.
Madrid Derby suspended!
But this was just the beginning of the scandalous scenes. More objects were thrown onto the Civitas Metropolitano pitch, forcing the referee to stop the match! The referee first informed both team coaches and then asked the players to leave the field and go to the locker rooms.
Not all players followed the instructions. Atletico icons José María Giménez and Koke approached the hardcore fan section, pleading with the fans to calm down. Diego Simeone also stepped in, using emphatic gestures to urge the supporters to think and allow the match to continue.
Subsequent replays showed not only lighters being thrown onto the pitch. At one point, Courtois picked up a plastic bag containing excrement. "This is going too far" - remarked Tomasz Ćwiąkała, who was commentating on the match for Canal+ Sport.
These are events that will go down in the shameful history of La Liga. This is a dark chapter in the league's history
- Ćwiąkała added. The match resumed after a nearly 20-minute delay. The game ultimately ended in a 1-1 draw. In the 95th minute, Angel Correa scored the equalizer. Three minutes later, Marcos Llorente was shown a red card for a foul on Fran Garcia.
Courtois is a former Atletico goalkeeper, having played for the club from 2011 to 2014 while on loan from Chelsea. With Atletico, he won the league and the domestic cup, and in the 2013/14 season, he even played in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, the team he joined in the summer of 2018.
