Luis Enrique, PSG coach, said this Sunday after the Club World Cup final that in the brawl in which he hit Joao Pedro, Chelsea striker, his intention was to"separate the players" and prevent the brawl from getting worse.
"At the end of the match, there was a situation that I believe was completely avoidable, on everyone's part. My objective and my intention, as always, was to try to separate the players so there wouldn't be any more problems," he said at a press conference.
"There's a lot of tension, a lot of pressure. From there on, there's a series of pushes and shoves from many people, which I think we should all avoid and shouldn't happen again. But, I repeat, my intention, as always, was to avoid any situation that would escalate," he added.
The coach responded to two other questions about the incident with the same arguments, insisting that his goal was to calm the waters between the players and the coaching staff.
Luis Enrique was involved in an incident at the end of the Club World Cup final, in which his team was defeated 3-0 by Chelsea, when he punched Brazilian striker Joao Pedro in the neck.
SPARKS FLY BETWEEN LUIS ENRIQUE AND JOAO PEDRO! ????????????????
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) July 13, 2025
The Spanish coach's moment with the Chelsea player after losing the Club World Cup final @FIFACWC | The final, free on https://t.co/OFe1FpBGjK | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld
After the final whistle blew in a match that escalated into added time with several harsh tackles, a scuffle broke out in midfield in which Luis Enrique was involved. The coach went to an area where Achraf Hakimi and Gianluigi Donnarumma were arguing with Joao Pedro, who fell to the turf after feeling a blow.
Luis Enrique dealt it to Chelsea's Brazilian striker, releasing his left arm and hitting him first in the chest and then in the face. The incident sparked several minutes of discussion between the two teams before the situation calmed down.
