The Honduran Football League classic between Marathón and Olimpia was marred by an unfortunate game. When the game was about to grab everyone’s attention, player André Orellana was the focus of the day when he brutally kicked the shin pads of two Olimpia players, leaving them lying on the grass. The footballers who were attacked had been his teammates until recently.
The classic was almost over. Two minutes before the end of the official 90 minutes, Orellana – on loan to Marathón from Olimpia – ran several meters and fought for the ball with his head against two opposing players. The 21-year-old resolutely lifted his right leg and did not touch the ball: he went straight to the legs of his colleagues Germán Mejía and Carlos Pineda.
National teams
Orellana was immediately sent off while the injured soccer players rolled on the ground in pain, as captured in the images that soon went viral. “I think it was a play where the momentum and courage of the game convinced me. It is not correct at all. “I have already spoken with ‘Patón’ (Mejía), who is like a father to me,” explained Orellana after the meeting ended.
“Germán told me that nothing was happening, that he loved me and that I was part of the game, that I shouldn’t lose my DNA and keep working, that I still had a lot to grow. And I also spoke to the teacher (Pedro Troglio, the Argentine coach of Olimpia). I just want to apologize to both institutions, both the Marathon and Olimpia. “Troglio told me to stay calm, that he valued me and that they are experiences that can be improved,” the footballer added to local media.
On social networks, Mejía commented on his former teammate’s pranks. “We have already spoken, it is part of football,” the footballer wrote, adding a screenshot of a WhatsApp chat with Orellana.
