Mexico manager Javier Aguirre bloodied after being hit with beer can following loss to Honduras

Mexico national team manager Javier Aguirre was hit in the head with a beer can following their 2-0 loss to Honduras in the first leg of a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal.

The incident happened at Estadio Francisco Morazán as Aguirre, 65, was approaching Honduras manager Reinaldo Rueda for a post-match handshake.

“Nothing, nothing, it’s football,” Aguirre said of being hit with a beer can that ended up bloodying him.

“They deserved to win, they were better than us in areas, I’ve got nothing left but to congratulate them, and well, to try to lift my team’s spirit. The other thing, there’s no point in even mentioning it because well, it’s football, I’m not one to complain.”

Said Rueda of what happened, “I’m sad about what happened at the end. That truly can’t ever happen again, here or in any other stadium in Honduras or any stadium in the world.

“I’m sad because he’s a human being, because just like they hit [Aguirre], they could’ve hit me. That’s something that can’t happen, we send our apologies to Mexico, its people and Aguirre. The party gets damaged, all the efforts our players made on the pitch get tarnished. Something like this happening is regrettable.”

Mexico’s soccer federation condemned the actions in a statement released after the game.

Concacaf has begun an investigation and referred the incident to the Concacaf Disciplinary Committee for further review.

After losing the first leg, Mexico needs to score at least twice in Tuesday’s second leg at home to have a a chance to move on to the semifinal round in March. Nations League utilizes away goals as a tiebreaker in this stage of the competition.