Sergio Gomez was 'surprised' by Cole Palmer's celebrations during the under-21 European Championship final, saying his Manchester City teammates' attitude was 'not good' on Sunday.
Gomez was on the losing side as Spain were beaten by England in dramatic fashion in Georgia, with Palmer playing the pivotal role in the final's only goal - it was his free kick that deflected off the back of Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones to fly into the bottom corner.
Palmer led the celebrations, believing the goal was his, and led his teammates to the benches, much to the anger of the Spain camp. The following brawl led to England coach Ashley Cole and Spanish fitness coach Carlos Rivera both being sent off, while Morgan Gibbs-White and Spain's Antonio Blanco were both dismissed in second-half injury time after Blues goalkeeper James Trafford made an incredible match-winning double penalty save.
Spain and Gomez were visibly heartbroken, with the City man on media duty after the game. Asked about Palmer's celebrations, Gomez didn't remain diplomatic and criticised his teammate for what he felt was an unnecessary attitude.
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"It surprised me," Gomez told Cadena Ser. "He didn’t want to apologise or anything like some of his other teammates. I don’t know, I would have celebrated it in a different way and my teammates would have done it in a different way as well.
"They [England] have the attitude they want to have. This is not the first time something like this has happened with this team. We have tried to represent our country in the best possible way and have the utmost respect for all our rivals. They wanted to celebrate it like this and also after the missed penalty."
Speaking to other media, Gomez continued his complaints, saying he congratulated Palmer but doesn't expect an apology when the pair join up again for pre-season training.
“I don't know if we will talk about it or if he will tell me something," Gomez said. "I am not going to tell him anything, I have congratulated him, as it has to be done. If you want to say something to me or apologize, ask me, but the truth is that it has not been a good attitude.
"There has been nothing, he has wanted to celebrate it like this and he is done. Each one celebrates it as they want and we already know how the English are.
“In the end they are the ones who make those provocations. He has wanted to celebrate it like this, there has been a bit of a racket. I said in the middle of the half that we should forget about it, that we would play our game and in the second half we played better than in the first. We had the chance of a penalty and it couldn't be scored, a shame”.
Gomez was awarded the joint top-scorer award for the tournament with three goals and two assists, level with teammate Abel Ruiz, who missed the injury time penalty, but he looked thoroughly unimpressed when presented with the Golden Boot after the game.
