“Not once have I said 'olé'”
LONDON, Dec. 23 (dpa/EP) –
Manchester City player Jack Grealish has denied having been disrespectful towards Fluminense, as footballer Felipe Melo claimed, during the English team's victory on Friday in the Club World Cup final.
Tempers briefly flared after the final whistle when City captain Kyle Walker and Fluminense defender Felipe Melo got into a heated argument. Melo later blamed Grealish for stoking tensions, claiming the City winger had shouted “olé”.
Apparently, Melo considered that the English star was making fun of Fluminense by using that term during the Club World Cup final. “This is for the fans, the fans can shout 'olé'. The athlete on the field cannot be disrespectful,” he said.
Grealish insisted that was not true of social network X, formerly known as Twitter. “Not once have I said 'olé',” she noted.
The situation quickly calmed down before City lifted their fifth trophy of the year after beating the Brazilian team 4-0 in Saudi Arabia. Julián Álvarez scored twice, and Phil Foden also scored in the second half, after a Nino own goal put City two up.