In the light of the episode between Kepa Arrizabalaga and Maurizio Sarri, a video has emerged where a player took penalty against the manager’s wish.
Kepa Arrizabalaga’s behaviour drew significant criticism towards the Chelsea goalkeeper from the fans and pundits alike.
The Spaniard refused to come off as a substitute in the Carabao Cup final and failed to prevent a loss in the penalty shootout. In his statement, he suggested a misunderstanding with the coaching staff. Maurizio Sarri spoke along the similar lines.
In the wake of the event, a five-year old footage of Lionel Messi seemingly refusing to come off went viral.
And now, another footage from Turkish League game is doing the rounds, where the player took the penalty against his manager’s wish, scored and shouted “f*** off” towards his boss.
Rizespor’s Leonard Kweuke stepped up to take the penalty, despite his manager Hikmet Karaman shouting from the touchline to give the ball to the other player.
Rizespor was trailing 2-1 in the injury time when the incident took place. However, Kweuke kept his calm – but only until he scored from the spot-kick.
As soon as the ball went in, he turned towards his manager and shouted “f*** off” mutliple times, triggering reaction from his boss. A minute later, he scored the winner for Rizespor and burst into tears.
Kweuke was suspended from the squad and was forced to train alone in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Here’s the video:
Kepa Arrizabalaga, meanwhile, is fined a week’s wages for his actions during the Carabao Cup final.
“Although there was a misunderstanding, on reflection, I made a big mistake with how I handled the situation,” the goalkeeper said.
“I wanted to take the time today to apologise fully and in person to the coach, to Willy, my team-mates and to the club.
“I have done this and now I want to offer the same apology to the fans. I will learn from this episode and will accept any punishment or discipline the club decides is appropriate.”
Maurizio Sarri also issued a reflective statement on the incident, where he insisted that he has no issues with the goalkeeper after his apology.
“Kepa realises he made a big mistake in the way he reacted.
“He has apologised to me, his team-mates and the club. It is up to the club if they want to discipline him according to the club rules, but for me this matter is now closed.
“The team performance as a whole was extremely positive and it is a shame to see how this incident has overshadowed our efforts in what was a very competitive cup final.”
