Rayo Vallecano goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski has dismissed any hint of controversy over his run-in with Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior on Sunday night.
The North Macedonian goalkeeper was holding onto the ball as Real Madrid tried to hurry the game up in the search for the winner, as Vinicius went across to grapple with him. Dimitrievski then leapt to the floor, after which Vinicius shouted at him on the ground, and was caught saying, ‘you and me, outside.’
Speaking after the game to Movistar+, as carried by Marca, Dimitrievski had little interest in fuelling the flames of controversy.
“Nothing happened… In the end it’s normal… He (Vinicius) wanted to take the ball, I twisted my ankle on the pitch and fell. They are simply circumstances of the game and nothing more,”
Asked exactly what was said between the two, the Rayo shot-stopper was continued his casual tone.
“These are things that stay on the pitch.”
“These are normal things that can happen… Like me to him… or him to me. It was just a bit of fun. I don’t really give it much importance either.”
Stole Dimitrievski 🤔🇲🇰🇧🇷pic.twitter.com/xZ8mPovkBz
— LaLigaExtra (@LaLigaExtra) November 5, 2023
On the whole, he played the incident off as just another minor clash on the pitch, rather than an incident worth talking about.
“Have I spoken to Vinicius to settle everything? He was telling me ‘see you inside the dressing room’… but with humour. But we didn’t see each other… If I had seen him inside I would have given him a hug because this is football.”
“Vinicius is a great player. These are normal situations when the game is tense. It is normal for there to be friction, like that between Bellingham and Pathe Ciss. These things are a part of the game, we shouldn’t give importance to that.”
Vinicius ended up with a booking for dissent in a separate event, and while he was given the usual rough treatment that stars are given, he was again toeing the disciplinary line in the second half. Barcelona legend Carles Puyol spoke about Vinicius on Monday, saying that in contrast to Dimitrievski, he would recommend a change of attitude.
