{"id":292312,"date":"2023-10-04T06:39:31","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T06:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=292312"},"modified":"2023-10-04T06:39:31","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T06:39:31","slug":"simeones-unexpected-response-to-whether-beckham-deserved-world-cup-98-red-card","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/simeones-unexpected-response-to-whether-beckham-deserved-world-cup-98-red-card\/","title":{"rendered":"Simeone’s unexpected response to whether Beckham deserved World Cup 98 red card"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    Diego Simeone has admitted that he took a dive to get David Beckham sent off at the 1998 World Cup.<\/p>\n

    And the Argentinian bad boy was successful, as Golden Balls was shown a red card for the incident, which ultimately preceded England being dumped out of the competition. <\/p>\n

    Becks became a figure of hate in the UK following the incident after then-manager Glenn Hoddle blamed England's exit on the red card, believing that they would have seen out the game if they kept 11-men on the pitch. <\/p>\n

    READ MORE: <\/b>David Beckham's mum was 'offered outside' by male West Ham hooligan during match<\/b><\/p>\n

    READ MORE: <\/b>David Beckham <\/b>met Victoria in car parks and first intimate moment came inside BMW<\/b><\/p>\n

    But now in the new Netflix documentary on Beckham's life, Simeone has admitted that he does not believe the incident was a red card – because he was simply playing dirty. <\/p>\n

    Recalling the incident, Simeone said: \u201cIt\u2019s not only about controlling the ball. It\u2019s also about focus and passion, and also controlling anger. I went to him to see how he would react."<\/p>\n

    But asked if Beckham should have been sent off, the Atletico Madrid manager added: \u201cAbsolutely not. Absolutely not. The contact was minimal. You can see I was hamming it up, knocked over by David\u2019s imaginary kick.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Did you think Beckham deserved a red card? Let us know in the comments section. <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    The pair would then meet on the pitch again a number of months later when Manchester United took on Inter Milan in the Champions League.<\/p>\n

    The media was geared up for the clash of the pair and all eyes were on their pre-match handshake. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t happy. That\u2019s understandable," recalls Simeone.<\/p>\n

    Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remembered the pressure on Beckham in their rematch. \u201cThere was a little bit of talk, seeing how you do now against this lad," he said. "I don\u2019t think we as a team said we\u2019d do him for you, but there was a secret code there that if we could, we\u2019d smash him for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

    United were to run out victors, with Beckham playing a key role in the events. \u201cAt the end of the match, he was sensible enough to exchange shirts with me,\u201d Simeone said. <\/p>\n

    But what happened to the shirt? "I framed it," Beckham said with a wry smile. <\/p>\n