Luis Enrique clarified the assault controversy that arose after the Club World Cup final.

On the 14th (Korea time), the American media ESPN reported, “Enrique denied the allegations that he pushed João Pedro, claiming it was a misunderstanding that occurred while trying to Marlee the players.”

On this day, Chelsea captured victory by defeating Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0 in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA. With this win, Chelsea lifted their second trophy of the 2024-2025 season, adding it to their UEFA Conference League title.

This tournament was organized differently than before. The Club World Cup was revamped from a one-year cycle to a four-year cycle, and the number of participating teams was expanded to 32. The total prize money significantly increased to approximately $1 billion (about 1.3782 trillion won). Chelsea secured a prize of £92 million (about 171.1 billion won) with this victory.

In the final, Chelsea dominated PSG from the start of the match. In the 22nd minute, Marlee took advantage of Nuno Mendes' defensive error, and Cole Palmer connected it with a precise shot to score the opening goal. Then, in the 30th minute, in a counterattack situation, Palmer scored another goal, and in the 43rd minute, João Pedro, receiving a pass from Palmer, calmly finished, resulting in Chelsea scoring three goals in the first half.

PSG began to counterattack in the second half but was repeatedly thwarted by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's superb saves. Shots from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé were also blocked by Sanchez. In the 28th minute of the second half, they brought in Gonçalo Hamus, Senni Maylu, and Warren Zaïre-Emery in hopes of turning the tide, but there was no gain. Rather, in the 41st minute of the second half, João Neves was sent off for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair, causing the atmosphere to further dampen.

After the match, tensions flared between the two teams, and despite being restrained by Presnel Kimpembe, Enrique lost his temper and resorted to a violent act against Pedro.

British media strongly criticized Enrique's actions. The Standard reported, “A shocking scene unfolded as Chelsea celebrated their victory. Enrique struck Pedro,” while The Independent pointed out, “Enrique stood at the center of this ugly incident.”

In response, Enrique expressed his position at the post-match press conference. He said, “Everyone got caught up in the altercation. It was something that happened under the pressure of the game. It was a situation where it was difficult to suppress emotions. I also saw Chelsea's coach Maresca pushing away PSG players. We all just tried to separate the players.”

However, the Spanish media Marca provided a different analysis. After analyzing Enrique's lip movements on the broadcast, they reported that he was caught saying, “I was a fool. He pushed me, and when I touched him, he fell.” It seems he acknowledged his mistake to the coaching staff.

[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), DAZN, ESPN FC social media.

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