After the outbreak of anger, Grealish denies Felipe Melo's accusations

“I didn't say 'olé' not once,” the Manchester City player posted on social media in response to some of the Brazilian's statements.

23/12/2023, 01:52 PM +00:00

The two clashed on the pitch after the Club World Cup final. Still with the players from both teams greeting each other after the final whistle, something sparked Felipe Melo. The Brazilian left his body on the Englishman after he got rid of the ball. After the final whistle, Grealish went to tackle Martinelli, and Felipe Melo quickly appeared to defend his teammate.

The veteran Fluminense footballer pushed Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker, one of Manchester City's captains, went to help his teammate, but the mess was already set up. The brawl that originated on the pitch with English and Brazilian as protagonists had its origin, according to Felipe Melo himself, in an alleged mockery of the recent club world champion.

“Today (Jack) Grealish was disrespectful to Fluminense and I will never allow that… he shouted ‘olé’ during the match. That's for the fans, they can shout 'olé'. The athlete on the field cannot be disrespectful...”, the 40-year-old player declared after the match. Some accusations that the Englishman has come out to directly deny on social networks.

Through his personal Twitter account, and in response to a tweet that included these statements by Felipe Melo, Jack Grealish stated: “I didn't say 'olé' not once.” The Manchester City winger, who while passing through the mixed zone came out jokingly and 'escorted' by Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland, wanted to deny the event that supposedly occurred at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah.

The origin of conflict

After the end of the match, Felipe Melo, one of the leaders of the Copa Libertadores champion, clashed with Kyle Walker, one of the figures of the British team. The origin of the fight was a play in the 44th minute, shortly after Phil Foden's fourth goal for the English. Jack Grealish received the ball on the left wing and, after passing the ball, was hit by Martinelli. A member of City's coaching staff also tried to calm Grealish and get him out of his way, and the confusion dissolved on the pitch.