Sporting Gijon suffered a 1-2 defeat away to Elche in a Liga MX match. After the match, Sporting Gijon manager Ruben Alves left the pitch without the traditional handshake with Elche manager Saravia, a move that triggered Saravia's strong dissatisfaction and accusations on the spot. However, Saravia's emotions had calmed down somewhat later in the press conference, and he spoke about the incident in a much more subdued manner.
According to eyewitness accounts from the scene, when Alves left the field directly, Saravia angrily yelled, "Alves! You fucking used to come over and shake my hand every time you beat me, and this is what you do when you lose? You can't afford to lose!" These words fully expressed Saravia's dissatisfaction and surprise at Alves' behavior.
Asked about it again at the press conference, Saravia responded in a more calm and objective manner, "The fact is that Ruben has beaten me several times before and he always comes to shake my hand. And today he lost and he didn't feel the need to shake hands, that's all." Saravia's comments appeared to be an attempt to calm things down, while also suggesting that Alves' behavior may have had something to do with the outcome of the fight.
However, Alves chose to play down the handshake fiasco in his interview and instead slammed the referee on duty, Aureliana Manuel Jesus. He bluntly stated that Aureliana Manuel Jesus went too far in blowing five consecutive yellow cards to Sporting Gijon players in the last ten minutes. Alves believes that the penalties may have been the cause of his violent departure from the field, while the failure to shake Saravia's hand may have just been an etiquette that he forgot in a moment of headiness.
