Atletico Madrid have confirmed they will be not giving Real Madrid a guard of honour on Sunday evening, and Carlo Ancelotti has wasted no time in responding.
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Los Blancos were crowned LaLiga champions for the 35th time last weekend after thrashing Espanyol 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In Spain and England, teams have been known to give the newly crowned champions a guard of honour before a match but Atletico will do no such thing for their cross-town rivals.
“Some people want to turn what began as a gesture of recognition for the champions into a public toll that their rivals must pay, imbued with the scent of humiliation," the club said in a statement.
“Atletico Madrid will under no circumstances collaborate in this attempt at ridicule in which the true values of sport are completely forgotten and tension and confrontation between fans are incited.”
Ancelotti, however, is not too concerned about the news of Atletico not giving his side a special honour before Sunday's night encounter.
“The Italians aren’t used to this, everyone should do what they feel [like] and we have to respect it. It’s a neighbouring club, a friend, we respect everyone. If they do it, good, if not, that’s good too.”
However, Los Blancos famously did not give Barcelona a gaurd of honour in 2018 before an El Clasico despite the Catalans being crowned champions already.
Check out Real Madrid's LaLiga title celebrations in the Spanish capital: