{
  "id": 6568940,
  "title": "Spanish columnist accuses Liverpool of playing with ‘severe roughness’ in win over Atletico",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/spanish-columnist-accuses-liverpool-of-playing-with-severe-roughness",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-10T09:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spanish-columnist-accuses-liverpool-playing-093000692.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Spanish columnist Walter Zimmermann has accused Liverpool of using \"severe roughness\" in their 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid at Anfield. Despite the match statistics suggesting a relatively tame encounter, with only two yellow cards and 21 fouls, the refereeing by Davide Massa left Zimmermann and some Spanish media sources outraged. Zimmermann specifically criticized Liverpool for targeting Lee Kang-in with \"severe roughness,\" citing incidents such as the yellow card issued to Alexis Mac Allister for an ankle injury and Virgil van Dijk's theatrically fallen challenge on Lee. Additionally, Zimmermann accused Atletico's players of engaging in unsportsmanlike tactics, particularly in the first half, with Lee being a major culprit. He also faulted Massa and VAR official Marco di Bello for their lack of action on the pitch. The columnist expressed surprise at Massa's apparent tolerance of Atletico's theatrics, including Alexander Isak's brief absence from the game after a late tackle. Overall, Zimmermann believes the refereeing was one of the worst he has witnessed, with the home side having the most cause for complaint rather than the visitors.",
  "summary": "A Spanish columnist has accused Liverpool of playing with ‘severe roughness’ in their 2-1 victory against Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday night.The statistics wouldn’t suggest that it ha...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Liverpool come from behind to beat Atletico Madrid",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/liverpool-come-from-behind-to-beat-atletico-madrid",
        "published": "2026-09-09T21:07:13.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Liverpool defeat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Champions League opener",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/liverpool-defeat-atletico-madrid-2-1-in-champions-league-opener",
        "published": "2026-09-09T21:54:58.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "PSG rout Slovan 6-1 as Liverpool rally to beat Atletico in Champions League",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/psg-rout-slovan-6-1-as-liverpool-rally-to-beat-atletico-in-champions",
        "published": "2026-09-10T01:30:46.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "Mac Allister scores winner as Liverpool beat Athletico Madrid",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/mac-allister-scores-winner-as-liverpool-beat-athletico-madrid",
        "published": "2026-09-10T01:56:12.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "Champions League: Gary Lineker names team to stop Arsenal from winning trophy",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/champions-league-gary-lineker-names-team-to-stop-arsenal-from-winning",
        "published": "2026-09-10T05:21:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "France 24",
        "title": "PSG make perfect start to Champions League title defence",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/psg-make-perfect-start-to-champions-league-title-defence",
        "published": "2026-09-10T05:41:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "🥐☕️ FC Breakfast: Dembélé PSG boss in Champions League 👑, Ferran historic 🎩",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/fc-breakfast-dembele-psg-boss-in-champions-league-ferran-historic",
        "published": "2026-09-10T07:16:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Times",
        "title": "PSG thrash Slovan in Champions League opener",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/psg-thrash-slovan-in-champions-league-opener",
        "published": "2026-09-10T12:41:05.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}