Former Argentina international Roberto Fabián Ayala, a member of Lionel Scaloni’s coaching staff with the Argentine national team, expressed regret over his actions after the FIFA World Cup 2026 final and said he would apologize “in person” to Spain midfielder Dani Olmo if they meet again following“I am obviously sorry. Because of the position I hold, I cannot allow a feeling or whatever I may receive from the other side to change my mood and my actions. I regret it the incident in which he pushed the Spanish player.

Self-Critical About His Actions and Ready to Apologize

“I am obviously sorry. Because of the position I hold, I cannot allow a feeling or whatever I may receive from the other side to change my mood and my actions. I regret it. For me, these are things that stay there and that’s it,” Ayala said Wednesday during an interview with Esports Migdia on Valencia Capital Radio.

The former Valencia CF defender, who won two LaLiga titles, a UEFA Cup, and a UEFA Super Cup with the club, avoided going into detail about what happened on the pitch and the reasons behind the push on Dani Olmo, for which he was criticized.

“For me, things need to be stopped there and left in the past. It was more of a push than anything else; it was not a punch as some people have claimed, and that’s where it ends,” Ayala explained.

“It was a reaction to something that was said, but that’s it. If I see him, obviously I will apologize to him in person,” added the former player of clubs such as AC Milan and Real Zaragoza, now 53.

Ayala Explains His Intention Was to Calm the Situation

Ayala insisted that his intention was to intervene and prevent the confrontation from escalating.

“It is unfortunate, and you have to take responsibility for your actions and what you did on the pitch. When the match ended, what I saw was a confrontation in the middle of the field, and we went to look for our players and try to make sure everything ended properly because that is not who we are,” he said.

“I take responsibility for what I did. My intention was to go there and separate people, that was my intention. But sometimes you find yourself in situations where emotions are running high. That is not an excuse, and because of the position I hold, my behavior has to be different regardless of what happens,” Ayala added.

He also clarified his interaction with Eric García: “Eric García was there as well, and I simply told Eric that I came in to separate the players and congratulate them, nothing more.”

Ayala acknowledged that Spain was the better team and “won the World Cup by playing very attractive football that many people enjoy.”

The former defender also addressed what he described as a possible international campaign against Argentina.

“It has happened thousands of times, but I don’t know why recently, and especially with our national team, I don’t know if it is a campaign or something else. There has been a certain desire for our team not to succeed, because we play a different style of football,” Ayala said.

“This is the football we believe in. We play to bring joy to our people,” he added.

According to Ayala, “people look for things that make everything negative toward Argentina,” while “there are thousands of gestures from Spanish players that are not highlighted.”

“There needs to be real journalism, the journalism of the past, not what we see now from ‘streamers’ who want to interpret conversations and gestures,” he said.

Asked about Argentina’s players appearing to turn their backs during Spain’s World Cup trophy celebration, Ayala explained that the Albiceleste players were close to the Spanish squad during the celebrations.

“After that, we went toward the stands where some family members had experienced problems to make sure everything was fine. We stayed with our supporters to thank them because they made a huge sacrifice being away from home,” he said.

“We were facing away, but the screen was in front of us and several of us turned around to watch that moment. We saw it, we were there, and there is nothing more to it. It was not an act of disrespect,” Ayala added.

Ayala’s Final Message: Accept Mistakes and Move Forward

Finally, Ayala reflected on the importance of accepting mistakes and apologizing.

“Many times we have all had reactions we are not proud of and we have made mistakes. You have to know how to apologize and accept what comes next. Congratulations to all Spaniards for their World Cup, enjoy it, and remember that football has moments that fill us with pride and others that we must continue improving,” he said.

“I have two Spanish children, I have many friends there, it is a country I love, and I don’t think things should be taken to extremes. This is what happened, and because of our behavior, we have to accept the consequences and apologize,” Ayala concluded.

“Lionel Scaloni lives in Spain, he is always in contact with people there, and all of us have strong ties with Spain and love that country. It was simply football, and we want it to stay there.”

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