Tino Livramento in action for Newcastle United.placeholder image
Tino Livramento in action for Newcastle United. | Getty Images
A shocking tackle on Newcastle United star Tino Livramento sparked a mass brawl after England Under-21s beat Spain over the weekend.
England progressed to the semi-final of the Under-21s European Championships with a 3-1 win over Spain in Trnava.
Former Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in stoppage time to effectively confirm victory for the Young Lions.
Tino Livramento gets lucky escape as incident sparks major altercation
And with the game effectively over and Livramento expertly clearing up the danger, the Newcastle right-back was the target of a wild tackle attempt from Spain’s Marc Pubill. The Almería defender left the ground as he went for Livramento with his studs up but fortunately did not make contact.
Livramento unsurprisingly took issue with the challenge as he lightly bumped chests with Pubill. Fans also took to social media to express their disgust at the challenge that could have caused serious injury had it made contact.
And when the final whistle was blown moments later, tensions boiled over.
Both teams engaged in a brawl that saw McAtee booked for England and Spain substitute Rafa Marin shown a straight red card. But it was ultimately Livramento and England who had the last laugh as they look ahead to playing Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.
England are looking to retain their Under-21s European Championships title from two years ago which saw Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon named player of the tournament. Now, Livramento is playing a key role as a senior member of the squad.
England duo discuss mass brawl v Spain
Discussing the incident at the end of the match, England Under-21s boss Lee Carsley said: "I think there are better ways to build camaraderie! But I think we had something similar in the final [two years ago].
"Emotions run very high and in those kinds of scenarios you don’t want anyone to get sent off, anyone to throw a punch or get themselves in trouble.
"You try and be as respectful to both sides but you can see how much it means to the players. To represent your country in a quarter-final, it means a lot.
"We probably have to give them a bit of leeway. Thankfully it didn’t go over the top but it’s still not nice to see.
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"We are always trying to fly the flag and encourage younger players especially to take up
Goalscorer and captain McAtee commented: "I never saw the challenge [on Livramento]. I saw the boys start going into it, so always going in to help. It’s part of football, and you just have to stick together as a team.
"It’s a big game, we know that. It’s two big teams in the tournament, so them kicking off, we can’t sit back and just let them do it, we have to give them a bit back, so I am happy with the boys."
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