New Delhi – Roberto Ayala, assistant coach of the Argentine national team, apologized for the argument that broke out between him and the Spanish national team midfielder, Dani Olmo, after the 2026 World Cup final, admitting that his actions were unacceptable.
Ugly scenes unfolded after Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after extra time on Sunday to win the World Cup title. FIFA has since launched an investigation into the post-match brawl.
Chaos after the final whistle
Tensions escalated immediately after the final whistle as players and technical staff from both teams engaged in heated confrontations.Spain captain Rodri was seen arguing with Argentine defender Nicolas Otamendi. Leandro Paredes received a red card after punching Gavi, who ran onto the field to celebrate Spain’s victory.Ayala was also involved in the incident. Television footage showed the former Argentine defender approaching Dani Olmo before making contact with the Spanish midfielder. Olmo chose not to retaliate.
Ayala apologizes for his actions
Speaking after the accident, Ayala admitted he had made a mistake and said he regretted losing control.“Obviously I’m sorry. Because of my position, I cannot allow any feeling, or what I might receive from the other party, to change my mood and actions.
“I’m sorry, but for me, these are the things that stay there and that’s it,” Ayala said in an interview with Radio Valencia Capital.He added: “For me, things should be put behind us and left there. It was more of a push than anything else, it wasn’t a punch as they say, and that’s all. It was a reaction to something he said, but that’s all. If I see him, obviously I will apologize to him personally.”Ayala said he was overcome by emotions during the chaotic scenes and takes full responsibility for his behavior.He said: “It is unfortunate, and you have to accept the facts and the things you did on the field. When the match ends, what I see is a fight in the middle of the field, and we rush to pursue our players, and it ends like this because this is not who we are.”He added that his original intention was to stop the confrontation rather than become part of it.“I take responsibility for what I did. My intention was to go and separate them, that was my intention, but sometimes things happen and emotions run high, but that’s no excuse.”
Given my position, my behavior must be different, regardless of what I receive.”FIFA opened disciplinary procedures in the fight that followed the match.The administrative body’s disciplinary committee appointed a disciplinary and ethics prosecutor to investigate incidents involving players and the technical staff.