More details have been leaked about Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and his heated altercation with Belgium boss Marc Wilmots.
The incident occurred in the dressing room after Belgium’s exit at Euro 2016 following a 3-1 defeat to Wales in their quarter-final clash on Friday night.
Courtois was reportedly highly critical of Wilmots and made it clear in front of the entire squad by slamming his coach’s tactics and accusing him of making the same mistakes as they made against Italy in the group stage, as noted by HLN.
Having made it clear that he blamed the coach, Wilmots ordered his player to be quiet and told him to come out of the dressing room into a small room next door where they could continue their discussion.
The report in fact congratulates Courtois for airing his feelings, as ultimately he was one of the better performers for the Belgians in the tournament and so ‘has every right to speak’, according to HLN.
Furthermore, it suggests that Wilmots would have benefited from listening to the shot-stopper who had warned him about the pitfalls previously, and that is said to have come from his time working with the likes of Jose Mourinho and Diego Simeone.
While there was a media silence at one point with Vincent Kompany rallying the troops after their disappointing exit, it remains to be seen whether or not Wilmots continues in his current job.
The expectation is that he will either leave or be sacked, although if he does stay, it’s unclear at this stage as to what his relationship with Courtois will be like moving forward.
As for Chelsea, incoming boss Antonio Conte could take the story one of two ways. The Italian tactician could either respect Courtois for standing up and delivering his opinion, or be concerned about his indiscipline. Based on his general character and approach, it may well be the latter and that isn’t exactly the best first impression.