Portugal coach Luis Felipe Scolari has denied punching Serbia’s Ivica Dragutinovic.
Scolari was involved in a skirmish towards the end of Wednesday night’s 1-1 Group A draw that saw Dragutinovic dismissed.
A Bola ran a front photograph of Scolari throwing his fist at Dragutinovic’s face with the headline: “Scolari’s darkest night.”
“Furious with the referee, the Portuguese coach lost his head and attacked a Serbian player,” the newspaper claimed.
But the Brazilian coach denied striking the defender.
“I was defending (Ricardo) Quaresma. He (Dragutinovic) appeared in front of me but I did not touch him,” Scolari said.
“He (Dragutinovic) was going to hit (Ricardo) Quaresma and I defended him. If he says that I touched him he’s lying.
“All this happened when Quaresma was going towards the referee and the Serbian player blocked his way. If I have to answer to UEFA I will.”
Dragutinovic told Sportski zurnal that he had been shocked by Scolari’s actions.
“It’s a serious act. Scolari came into contact with me, yes. I think it’s unacceptable on the part of a coach,” he said.
“I’m going to meet the federation and we’ll decide what we have to do. I was talking with Quaresma when it all started. Everything was caught on camera.”
Serbian coach Javier Clemente said they would be taking the incident up with UEFA.
“It was obvious that the Portuguese lost their cool because they weren’t happy with the result,” said Clemente.
“I can’t understand how a coach who has won the World Cup cannot stand to lose. If he isn’t capable of doing this he should change jobs. I hope that UEFA’s disciplinary commission will judge this matter fairly.”
