Enrique Cerezo, president of Atlético Madrid, has emphasized that there is no issue around the club’s choice to wear commemorative shirts in tonight’s Champions League match against Celtic
The president of Atlético Madrid has been addressing to the collected media ahead of tonight’s game at Celtic Park, which has been dogged by controversy.
It all comes down to the uniforms that the two teams will be wearing, with Celtic scheduled to wear their standard home kit, which is raising issues for the Spanish club.
They wanted to wear their traditional red and white stripes, but UEFA said they couldn’t, and they also couldn’t wear their green kit.
As a result, Atlético inquired about wearing a commemorative kit in honor of their team from 50 years ago, a request that was granted and is now proceeding as planned.
However, this decision stirred up frustration within Celtic’s ranks. The all-red kit, commemorating the infamous 1974 clash with Celtic, is still vividly remembered as one of football’s most brutal games. At that time, Atlético received three red cards and seven more yellows, leading to a £14,000 fine.
Players like Jimmy Johnstone and Jock Stein even received death threats during that European Cup semi-final. Consequently, the decision reopened old wounds, leaving those in charge in Scotland somewhat irked.
The Spanish stance, on the other hand, remains unwavering, emphasizing that the decision was purely administrative and nothing more. Enrique Cerezo, Atlético’s president, reiterated this position today, saying, “It is not a matter of shame because we have played here more than once and have an excellent relationship with them.
We have no issues with them. The tribute is to our players from 50 seasons ago, not to the two teams, and it’s being done in total harmony and good faith. There is no controversy surrounding this.”
