"We did not go to insult the referee": Pereira reveals the behind-the-scenes of Al-Ittihad's crisis after the Clasico

Accusations and an admission of mistakes

Al-Ittihad defender Danilo Pereira has slammed the conduct of some match organisers following Portugal's 2-3 defeat to Al-Hilal in the eighth round of the Saudi Pro League. The players were pushed while trying to speak to the referee, he revealed. He pinned the loss on individual errors and took responsibility himself.

Pereira said, after the match: "We were talking to the referee, but some of the organisers intervened and started pushing us, and one of them put his hand on the faces of some of the players. We did not go to insult or offend the referee, we only wanted to talk to him."

"Their job is to protect everyone on the pitch, not just the referee, and what happened was a hostile act towards us," he added. "But it is over, and I have nothing to add."

The physical battle, the Portuguese defender insisted, had nothing to do with the result. Individual mistakes settled it. "Both teams played a great match, and we were present and put in a good performance, but we made many errors and paid the price for them," he said.

He continued: "We fought to come back and get the equaliser, but today was not our day. I take responsibility first, then the team, and despite playing well, unfortunately we lost."

There was a message for the Al-Ittihad fans too. Pereira thanked them for turning out in numbers, voiced his regret at not sending them home with a win, and urged them to keep the faith through the stage ahead.

Attention now turns to Asia, with Pereira stressing the need to put the defeat behind them quickly. "We will play a new match in three days, and we must recover well, as the coming encounters will be difficult, and we want to put in a good level in the AFC Champions League," he concluded.