Luiz Felipe Scolari walks out on his losing Gremio side during their match
Former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari left the dugout while he was managing his Gremio side, and walked off to the dressing room before the match ended. The Brazilian has been accused of unprofessional conduct over the incident.
Gremio suffered a 1-0 loss against lowly Veranopolis in the Gaucho state championship as the 2002-World-Cup-winning coach’s side slumped to their third defeat in four matches. Big Phil decided he had seen enough and decided to leave his team’s bench with four minutes of the match still remaining.
Scolari, who took over Gremio after being sacked as the Brazil coach post the 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany in last year’s World Cup semi-finals, said, “I sent myself off. It's impossible to be more embarrassed than that.”
“There was nothing more I could do so I went to the dressing room. There were three or four minutes left so I wanted to cool down and make sure I didn't do something I shouldn't.”
However, the ex-Chelsea boss has attracted considerable criticism over his ‘moment of fury’ from the pundits.
Former Brazil captain Carlos Alberto Torres said on Sportv, “Imagine if he did that at the Mineirao (stadium) in the 7-1 against Germany. Would he have the guts to do that and walk out on the Brazil team?”
Ex Brazil international Ricardo Rocha insisted on a softer stance saying that Gremio have had issues this season after losing key players in the close season but maintained that Scolari should have kept his calm.
He said, “He knew the problems Gremio were facing, he's spoken about them and he abandoned ship. He should have stayed with the players till the end.”