Wolfsburg boss Dieter Hecking has slammed Real Madrid left back Marcelo for his antics on Wednesday night saying the Brazilian needs to stop acting.
The defender went to ground in the 69th minute holding his face after clashing with Wolfsburg’s Max Arnold. Replays showed it was the left back who had pushed his head into the midfielder’s chest before reacting in that theatrical manner.
The incident has been widely condemned in the media with some comparing Marcelo’s reaction to Rivaldo in the 2002 World Cup against Turkey.
Asked about the incident after the game – which Wolfsburg won 2-0 – Hecking said: “I told Marcelo that he should stop acting. He could not have complained if he had been sent off in this scene.”
Arnold was also quizzed on the incident and was asked what he had said to the Brazilian that sparked him off.
He commented: “What happened with Marcelo? I told him that I wanted to have beautiful hair like him. Things like this are part of football. Everything is forgotten after the match.”
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle said the episode was ’embarrassing and disgraceful’ while ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane, now a pundit on ITV, laid into Marcelo saying his reaction was ‘shocking.’