I understand Edinson Cavani's reaction: Uruguay coach

Montevideo, June 26 (IANS): Uruguay's national coach Oscar Tabarez said on Friday that he understood forward Edinson Cavani's reaction who was sent off for receiving a double yellow after responding to aggression from Chilean Gonzalo Jara during Uruguay's final Copa America 2015 match on Wednesday.

"What happened to Cavani when he received the second yellow card (is) something that happens to all of us. We react because many things are at stake and this touches the intimate fibers of any offense," said Tabarez after landing back in Montevideo, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I am not justifying (what he did) but I understand it," said the coach after being eliminated from the Copa America 2015 tournament in the quarter-finals by host nation Chile.

"We couldn't continue in the tournament which wasn't what we wanted (especially) in a match where we were doing well (against Chile). (However) afterwards various circumstances occurred which changed the course of the match," said Tabarez.

The Uruguay coach also reiterated his disagreement with the Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci's match report which states that Tabarez insulted Ricci but according to Tabarez "this is false. The only thing I said to him was that he had sent off a player who wasn't at fault."

After their 1-0 victory against Uruguay at Santiago's National Stadium, Chile are the first team to qualify for the semi-final round of the Copa America 2015 football tournament.