Luis Enrique sought to play down slapping Joao Pedro in the aftermath of the Club World Cup final as the Paris Saint-Germain boss faces the possibility of a ban.
Chelsea stunned the Champions League winners to win the Club World Cup, with a brace from Cole Palmer and a superb chip from Pedro securing a 3-0 victory for Enzo Maresca’s side.
However, tensions soon boiled over shortly after full-time at the MetLife stadium following an altercation between Gianluigi Donnarumma and Andrey Santos.
Pedro soon arrived to protect his Chelsea teammate and fellow countryman, but the £60million summer signing was then bundled to the floor after being shoved in the face by Enrique.
PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe held back the Spaniard, while Maresca was also seen confronting Enrique as he tried to disperse the post-match brawl.
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However, speaking after the game, the PSG boss insisted that his only intention was to try and prevent both sets of players from brawling further after a tense end to the match, which had seen Joao Neves sent off for violent conduct.
‘At the end of the match, there is a lot of tension,’Enrique said at a press conference after the match.
‘There was a situation that I believe could have been avoided by everyone. I think that is logical.
‘I am going to prevent my players from going any further in that brawl and from then on there is pushing and shoving by everyone.
‘I think and I repeat, that is not the best thing to do. It’s the result of the tension, the result of the situation of the match and I have nothing more to add.’
Joao Pedro explains Luis Enrique incident
When asked about the incident with Luis Enrique, Pedro told Sportv: ‘I went to protect Andrey, I saw their players were crowding Andrey.
‘Like a good Brazilian, I went to protect my friend. A lot of people were arriving and in that mess, I ended up getting shoved. It’s part of it.
‘They didn’t know how to lose, but that’s football.’
While Enrique pleaded his innocence, the PSG boss still faces the possibility of a ban for his actions towards Pedro.
And former La Liga referee, Eduardo Iturralde Gonzalez believes Enrique could well be forced to watch from the stands when PSG face Tottenham in the Super Cup final next month.
‘Of course, you can be sanctioned,’ Gonzalez said, speaking to Cadena SER. ‘There’s a difference, the red and yellow cards in the tournament will expire. But FIFA can sanction him with time.
‘So, if Luis Enrique is given a one-month ban, he would miss any games in that month. What’s more, he wouldn’t even be able to train the team.’
Asked if he feels that FIFA will sanction Luis Enrique, Gonzalez replied: ‘You can’t touch an opponent’s face.
‘I mean, that’s already a humiliating issue, that you have to go over and punch a player in the face when the game is over. I don’t look at names, I look at the action, and if we look at the action, it’s punishable.
‘We need to be aware because FIFA is above UEFA. If FIFA tells you there are three matches it’s in their competition, but since in this tournament the yellow and red cards end today, FIFA can, on the other hand, sanction players based on time.’
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