KUALA LUMPUR: A free-for-all brawl after the final whistle marred Germany's 2-1 win over defending champions Argentina in today's Junior World Cup quarter-final match at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Argentina's Ignacio Nardolillo was among the victims of the brawl, mishandled by a German coaching staff.
Argentina coach Juan Gilardi claimed that a German coaching staff grabbed Ignacio's neck after the match.
"There were a lot of emotions, and the Germans were also screaming at the faces of my players during the match.
"It was not nice of them to provoke my players, who were trying to score an equaliser. We tried to keep our players from retaliating.
"Never in the history of any junior level tournament has a staff of an opponent team grabbed a player by the neck.
"We will review the video of the incident, and if we find there is a case, we will make an official complaint to the International Hockey Federation," said Gilardi.
Germany, who lost 4-2 to Argentina in the final of the 2021 Bhubaneswar edition, started well by leading 2-0 with goals by Hugo von Montgelas (32nd minute) and Jakob Brilla (39th).
But the Pan American champions fought back to narrow the deficit through Agustin Bonanno in the 48th minute.
Argentina earned a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter, but Bautista Capurro flicked the ball wide.
Gilardi said they did not have a good start and were trailing 2-0, but they fought back to create chances and scored a field goal.
"We played better in the final quarter and had chances to equalise. We had a stroke, but Capurro failed to score.
"He is an experienced player, but it can happen in matches," said Gilardi, who was part of the Argentina side that won the Olympic title at the 2016 Rio edition.
Two-time champions Argentina will next play Netherlands in the playoff for fifth to eighth placing.
