Roberto Mancini was filmed walking off the field before a penalty shoot-out ended during a match between Saudi Arabia and South Korea in the Asian Cup.
What happened?
The former Manchester City manager could not bear to see his team, Saudi Arabia lose their penalty shootout to South Korea in the Asian Cup round of 16.
The former Italy national team head coach wished to send his side through to the quarter-finals of the tournament, but things didn't go according to plan for him and his men.
The Italy International had watched his side dramatically lose a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of stoppage time at Education City Stadium.
Saudi Arabia was cruising through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup courtesy of Abdullah Radif's goal, before South Korea equalized in the 99th minute through Cho Gue Sung's late header.
The game went into a penalty shoot-out and there was disagreement when Mancini wanted VAR to order the retake of Sami Al-Najei's spot-kick, insisting the South Korean shot-stopper did not have his foot on the goalline.
However, Mancini's request was overlooked which made him furious, and decided to leave the field.
The 58-year-old could be seen walking down the tunnel in an apparent show of frustration.
The penalty ended in a 4-2 scoreline in favor of South Korea after Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s effort was saved by South Korea goalkeeper, Jo Hyeon-woo which saw Saudi Arabia crash out of the Asian Cup, thanks to Jurgen Klinsmann’s men.
After the game, Mancini was asked why he left, Mancini said; "South Korea had two chances to seal the win in the last two kicks, so I left".
Mancini later declared he had simply miscalculated the number of kicks taken and thought the shoot-out was over.
He further tender his apology for his actions, and he said; "I apologize (for leaving early), I thought it was finished. I didn't want to disrespect anyone".
"I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot".
He added; "We as a group, we improved a lot. We've worked for one month together (for the Asian Cup) and this is important".
The Euro 2020 winner left the Azzurri suddenly in August 2023, to take on a new and very lucrative role in Saudi Arabia.
Mancini made the shock announcement that he was going to make history as Saudi Arabia's head coach just weeks after leaving his role as Italy's manager due to his failure to qualify the team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
According to reports, Roberto Mancini penned a contract with Saudi Arabia until 2027, worth 21 million pounds annually.
Mancini resigned as Italy manager on August 13 after five years in charge of the Azzurri, with former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti revealed as his replacement.
During his time as Italy boss, Mancini won Euro 2020 and also finished in third place in the Nations League on two occasions.
What's next?
Following Saudi Arabia's knockout in the round of 16, the remaining teams, (South Korea, Bahrain, Japan, Iran, and Syria) will continue with the tournament until February 10 when the final match will be played between the two semi-final winners.
What happened?
The former Manchester City manager could not bear to see his team, Saudi Arabia lose their penalty shootout to South Korea in the Asian Cup round of 16.
The former Italy national team head coach wished to send his side through to the quarter-finals of the tournament, but things didn't go according to plan for him and his men.
The Italy International had watched his side dramatically lose a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of stoppage time at Education City Stadium.
Saudi Arabia was cruising through to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup courtesy of Abdullah Radif's goal, before South Korea equalized in the 99th minute through Cho Gue Sung's late header.
The game went into a penalty shoot-out and there was disagreement when Mancini wanted VAR to order the retake of Sami Al-Najei's spot-kick, insisting the South Korean shot-stopper did not have his foot on the goalline.
However, Mancini's request was overlooked which made him furious, and decided to leave the field.
The 58-year-old could be seen walking down the tunnel in an apparent show of frustration.
The penalty ended in a 4-2 scoreline in favor of South Korea after Abdulrahman Ghareeb’s effort was saved by South Korea goalkeeper, Jo Hyeon-woo which saw Saudi Arabia crash out of the Asian Cup, thanks to Jurgen Klinsmann’s men.
After the game, Mancini was asked why he left, Mancini said; "South Korea had two chances to seal the win in the last two kicks, so I left".
Mancini later declared he had simply miscalculated the number of kicks taken and thought the shoot-out was over.
He further tender his apology for his actions, and he said; "I apologize (for leaving early), I thought it was finished. I didn't want to disrespect anyone".
"I want to say thank you to all my players for what they did. They are improving a lot".
He added; "We as a group, we improved a lot. We've worked for one month together (for the Asian Cup) and this is important".
The Euro 2020 winner left the Azzurri suddenly in August 2023, to take on a new and very lucrative role in Saudi Arabia.
Mancini made the shock announcement that he was going to make history as Saudi Arabia's head coach just weeks after leaving his role as Italy's manager due to his failure to qualify the team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
According to reports, Roberto Mancini penned a contract with Saudi Arabia until 2027, worth 21 million pounds annually.
Mancini resigned as Italy manager on August 13 after five years in charge of the Azzurri, with former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti revealed as his replacement.
During his time as Italy boss, Mancini won Euro 2020 and also finished in third place in the Nations League on two occasions.
What's next?
Following Saudi Arabia's knockout in the round of 16, the remaining teams, (South Korea, Bahrain, Japan, Iran, and Syria) will continue with the tournament until February 10 when the final match will be played between the two semi-final winners.