Ibričić calls him a clown, Riera demands NHS reaction: ‘These are not provocations, these are insults, the federation must do its job’

Published on 17. March 2023 17. March 2023

Senijad Ibričić, Domžale’s sporting director, told the
in an interview with EkipaSN
raised a lot of dust. He spoke about the coach of Olimpija, pointing out, among other things, that Albert Riera is nothing more than a“Ljubljana clown“. Ibričić was most disturbed by the behaviour of the former… The Spaniard, who is on his way to the championship title with Olimpija, did not remain indebted to Ibričić. He replied to him at a press conference on Friday before the visit to Murska Sobota, at which Albert Riera also called on
the Football Association of Slovenia
to react to Ibričić’s statements.

“People have the opinion of me that they have. When I came to Slovenia, I said that I wanted to talk about football and use my experience to help the development of football in Slovenia. I am not an opportunist, I sit in front of you when we win and when we lose. But when someone insults me, I will respond,” began Albert Riera at a press conference in Stožice.

‘This man thinks he’s on my level’

The Dragons’ coach then added that Ibričić had used his name to get media attention.I’m sure no one would have made a conversation with him about his team… Such people appear in public once every six months, when they beat Olimpija or Maribor. And that’s it. This man thinks he is on my level. Far from it. He will be at my level when he takes over a team that has been third for three seasons in a row and puts it 16 points ahead of the rest. Then it might be close to my level,” says Albert Riera.

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“We are people first. I don’t even know the man, but he offends me. This is not the way. He doesn’t talk about others to be important. It’s a shame to seek attention in that way. Someone else did it in a similar way a few weeks ago. Let them prove themselves on the pitch and take over a team that was third for three years and is now firmly in first place. Maybe he thought he was physically on my level. Let him come and we’ll run. I’m retired, but I still play charity matches and I’m not in bad shape. Let him concentrate on his work and talk about what he is doing on the field or in the offices.”

Albert Riera, as I said, considers that Ibričić’s interview is ripe for an intervention by the NHS, although it would be utopian to expect the latter to react to what is written in the media. But the coach of Olimpija expects just that: “I hope the Federation will respond to these insults. These are not provocations, they are insults. The Union has a job to do here. It is clear that we anger others. Because we are ahead of them. Whoever is behind you does not anger or annoy anyone. But I really want to talk about football. That’s why I coach and that’s why I get paid. To win and to play better.”