Photos capture Luis Enrique's push on Chelsea's Joao Pedro as PSG coach faces nervous wait ahead of potential FIFA sanctions

Sky News AU

2 days ago

Photos have exposed the wild moment PSG coach Luis Enrique shoved Chelsea's new recruit Joao Pedro, despite the Spaniard's attempts to play down the post-game fracas in the FIFA Club World Cup Final.
Tensions came to the surface following the end of the match as players from both sides clashed, before members of the coaching staff got involved.
At one point, Enrique appeared to push Pedro in the face, with photos capturing when the moment unfolded.
When he faced the media shortly after, Enrique said the scenes were "not what was best" but played down his involvement, as he claimed he was trying to intervene and relieve the situation.
"I have no problem expressing my feeling at the end of the game in a high level of pressure. It's very stressful for all of us. It is going to be impossible to avoid that," he told reporters.
"Everybody was involved. It was not what was best and the end result of the pressure of the match."
He also took a dig at Chelsea's coach Enzo Maresca, who was also seen in a heated exchange with Enrique during the brawl.
"I have seen Maresca. I saw he had pushed others and we had to separate all the players and I do not know where that pressure came from," Enrique said.
"But this is a situation we must all avoid. That goes without saying. My intention is that I wanted to separate the footballers, so the situations didn't become worse."
Enrique now faces a nervous wait, as he could be hit with a lengthy suspension by FIFA.
Last season Lyon manager Paulo Fonseca was whacked with a nine-month suspension for his aggressive confrontation with a referee at the end of a match in March.
The heated scenes came as PSG players lost their cool following the shock 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves was sent off for the French side in the 86th minute after he pulled the hair of Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella in an off-the-ball incident.
The UEFA Champions League winners were widely tipped to win the final of the Club World Cup comfortably after beating Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals, while Chelsea were the heavy underdogs.
But a masterclass from Cole Palmer, who scored a double and created Chelsea's third which was scored by Pedro, inspired the Blues to an unlikely victory.
US President Donald Trump was in attendance at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium for the match, and handed over the trophy to the winning side.
In a bizarre moment, Trump remained on stage during Chelsea's trophy lift and smiled along while some of the English side's players appeared bewildered by the President's decision to stay amongst the celebrations.