Former Premier League manager is told ‘f*** you' by his own player before he shushes him in furious Club World Cup row
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
EX-PREM boss Bruno Lage has been embroiled in an astonishing touchline spat with his OWN player.
The Benfica boss watched his side see off Auckland City 6-0 in the Club World Cup on Friday night.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
3
Benfica boss Bruno Lage was involved in a furious row with Orkun Kokcu
Credit: Getty
3
The ex-Wolves manager was seen shushing his player during the row
Credit: Getty
Benfica struggled to break down the Kiwi minnows, taking almost an hour to find the opener.
Lage decided to shuffle his pack in the Orlando heat, replacing Orkun Kokcu with ex-Swansea City midfielder Renato Sanches.
But Kokcu was furious at being subbed, refusing to shake Lage's hand as he skulked from the field.
Portuguese outlet A Bola claims Kokcu turned and shouted "f*** you" at his manager before taking his place on the bench.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
MARC MY WORDS Guehi makes summer transfer decision between Arsenal and Liverpool
WATCH EVERY MATCH OF THE CLUB WORLD CUP 2025 LIVE ON DAZN
A furious Lage confronted Kokcu and was seen shushing him by placing a finger on his lips.
And after Sanches netted Benfica's third, the boss headed back to the bench to carry on the feud.
Kerem Akturkoglu was seen holding Kokcu back, preventing the incident from escalating as Lage again shushed his own player.
Lage claimed after the match that Kokcu was guilty of only wanting to "win and score goals".
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
He said: "We decided that Renato should come on.
"Regardless of the players' form, I make the decisions.
Bayern Munich beat Boca Juniors 2-1 at the Club World Cup
"In the last game, we started with Renato, and Kokcu came on later and helped us.
"That's how it was today, too. I saw the behaviour of a consistently professional athlete. That was a unique experience.
"He has always behaved very well both on and off the field. He has the desire to help the team.
"I make the decisions I have to make, no matter who it is. I've proven that many times.
"I look at the player's current situation and make my decisions calmly."
3
Lage, 49, took charge of Wolves in the Premier League between June 2021 and October 2022.
He won just 19 of 51 games at Molineux, but was hampered by an injury crisis to his strikers.
Julen Lopetegui replaced Lage in the Midlands, with the Portuguese taking charge of Botofago in Brazil before joining Benfica for a second stint last summer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
26 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Benjamin Nygren earns incredible Celtic transfer hype as legendary signing senses something special
Winger is close to finalising a deal to join Celtic and former defender Rieper insists he is perfect for Parkhead. He was nurtured in Nordsjaelland's Right to Dream Park. Now Benjamin Nygren is preparing to live that fantasy with Celtic in the Champions League. The winger is just the latest in a long production line of stars to head out of the Danish club with ambitions for bigger and better things. Nygren may have come through the ranks back in Sweden at IFK Gothenburg before moving on to Genk in Belgium and a loan spell at Dutch side Herenveen. But it was only after he moved to Nordsjaelland that he finally out down roots. And blossomed at a club former Celtic hero Marc Rieper is one of the best for developing young talent in the whole of Europe. One look at the Farum-based club's transfer business in recent years certainly backs that statement up. A year ago Conrad Harder left for Sporting Lisbon for £16.5m and lifted the Portuguese title. Weeks earlier Ibrahim Osman moved to Brighton for £17m. Twelve months before that a record £21m was banked in a deal that saw Ghana winger Ernest Nuamah move to Belgians Molenbeek and immediately head to parent club Lyon. Chuck in Southampton's Kamaldeen Sulemana who brought in £14.5m when he moved to Rennes in 2021 and fellow wide men Mohamed Kudus, Simon Adingra and Andreas Schjelderup who all moved for just shy of £10m and since 2021 Nordsjaelland have been bankrolled by a production line of wingers. Nygren is just the latest. But this time Brendan Rodgers looks to have got a snip at just shy of £2m if all clauses are emt. And it's a price Rieper reckons is an absolute bargain for a player he reckons will take Scottish football by storm. He said:: 'This is a really good signing for Celtic. Nygren was one of the top players in Denmark last season. A really exciting player. 'Nordsjaelland are unbelievable at developing players. They do it every year. 'They sell two or three every year for big money, £10million-plus. Then they just produce new stars at 17 or 18-year-old. 'They are probably the best in Europe at developing. They bought Nygren when he was an under 21 for Sweden but not really with a big reputation. They just nursed him and made him what he is now. 'They are really skilful at doing that. Now he is a full international with his country and doing well for them as well. 'I think Celtic have done really well to sign Nygren. I have actually been a bit surprised that Nordsjaelland have been able to keep him for so long. 'His contract was close to running out so they couldn't wait and let him lose for free. 'They opted to keep him last season when there was some interest and try to get in the top six. 'They managed that. Now it's time for him to move on.' The 23-year-old netted a career-best 16 goals across all competitions last season - having stuck 12 the previous campaign. HIs form saw him win a first call-up to the Swedish national team in March and he's since gone on to win four caps, netting another two goals. Celtic fans looking for a tricky, paced winger who knows the way to goal are in for a treat, according to Rieper, who was part of Wim Jansen 's title-winning Hoops side in 1997-98. The Dane said: 'Nygren was in the top seven or eight goalscorers in the Danish league last season. He has a good technique from distance. 'As a winger he goes past people because he has pace. 'He has good skills with the ball and is really neat passer, good at making connections with other players. He's an exciting player. I think the Celtic fans will really like him.'
Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
Suspensions not a concern for River Plate's Gallardo after Monterrery draw
LOS ANGELES, June 21 (Reuters) - River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo is confident he can still field a team capable of defeating Inter Milan in his side's final Group E game at the Club World Cup despite losing several players due to suspension. Gallardo saw Kevin Castano sent off in the latter stages of Saturday's 0-0 draw at the Rose Bowl with Monterrey, while yellow cards for Enzo Perez and Giuliano Galoppo mean the pair will also miss the meeting with the Italians on Wednesday in Seattle. River Plate are one of South America's most successful clubs, winning the Copa Libertadores on four occasions as well as the Intercontinental Cup in 1986. Their draw with Monterrey means the Argentinians are level on four points with Inter Milan in Group E. The two teams are due to face off in their final group game on Wednesday. Monterrey are third in the standings, two points behind Inter and River Plate, and a win over already-eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan could see the Mexican side climb into the qualification berths for the knockout rounds. River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo: "We have some players that we're going to be missing. We, of course, had some yellow cards and there are several players who won't be able to play in the next game, so we will have to see how we organise that. "But I see the glass as half full because, if you look at the scores, every club, every team has had it's problems. It was hard for Inter to win, it was hard for Monterrey too, so for our third game we're going to go with the best we have and we're going to be optimistic. "Today we deserved to win. Our level was better, and for the next game we will do the same."
Rhyl Journal
33 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Sunday's briefing: England Under-21s progress and Nuno extends Forest stay
Nuno Espirito Santo signed a new three-year deal as Nottingham Forest manager, and it was a red letter day for Borussia Dortmund new boy Jobe Bellingham at the Club World Cup. What a win. What a performance. OUR #YOUNGLIONS ARE INTO THE #U21EURO SEMI-FINALS! 👏 — England (@England) June 21, 2025 Holders England booked their place in the European Under-21 Championship semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over Spain. The Young Lions, who next face the Netherlands after they beat Portugal with 10 men, progressed after early strikes from James McAtee and Harvey Elliott. Spain responded with a penalty from Javi Guerra before the break. But Elliot Anderson's late spot-kick secured a memorable victory for Lee Carsley's side in what was a repeat of the 2023 final. The journey continues. — Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) June 21, 2025 Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo will remain at the City Ground until at least 2008. The 51-year-old Portuguese, who guided Forest to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season, has signed a new three-year contract. Forest will be playing European football for the first time since the 1995-96 season in the Conference League. Nuno said: 'I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club. 'I would like to thank our owner, Mr (Evangelos) Marinakis, for his constant support and backing. It is important to me to share a strong relationship with our ownership and we have thoroughly enjoyed working together ever since I arrived at Forest.' Jobe Bellingham scored his first Borussia Dortmund goal in a 4-3 Club World Cup win over Mamelodi Sundowns in Cincinnati. Bellingham struck on the stroke of half-time after cushioning the ball on his chest, with his volley benefiting from a slight deflection. Dortmund have four points from two Group G games after drawing 0-0 with Fluminense in their opening match. Inter Milan kept alive their hopes of making the last 16 with a late 2-1 comeback victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle. Lautaro Martinez equalised after 78 minutes with a brilliant overhead kick and Valentin Carboni's sidefoot finish in stoppage time gave Cristian Chivu his first win as Inter boss. Beth Mead has urged England to use pressure as fuel for their European title defence. The Lionesses squad travelling to Switzerland this summer is very different from the one that lifted the trophy on home soil at Euro 2022. Seven members of Sarina Wiegman's group have never played in a major tournament and England will be defending a major title for the first time. Arsenal forward Mead said: 'There's a little bit of pressure that comes with it but I think it's a free adrenaline injection, pump it into your veins. 'We've been there, we've done it, we need to bottle that energy up and (bring) what we brought last time.' 👟⚽️ @TrentAA — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 21, 2025 Real Madrid are back in action at the Club World Cup against Mexican side Pachuca having drawn their tournament opener with Al Hilal. Juventus play Wydad Casablanca in Manchester City's group seeking to follow up their opening 5-0 win over Al Ain. At the Under-21 European Championship in Slovakia, there are quarter-final ties between Denmark and France and Germany and Italy.
