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- Argentine side River Plate got their campaign underway against Urawa Reds
- Japanese club’s captain, though, opted not to shake opposing players’ hands
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A Club World Cup captain refused to shake the hands of opposition players moments before his side’s opening match at the tournament, in scenes that left fans – and his rivals – baffled.
The competition is now well underway, with a number of clubs beginning their campaign in the United States to huge fanfare from FIFA in its inaugural showing of the new format.
On Tuesday, Argentine side River Plate got their campaign up and running when they beat Urawa Reds of Japan 3-1, with Facundo Solidio, Sebastian Driussi and Maximiliano Meza all on the scoresheet.
There was, however, a curious moment before kick off when the captain of Urawa Reds, Marius Hoibraten, seemingly refused to shake hands with his opponents.
After the players were announced and had entered the pitch at the Lumen Field in Seattle, Hoibraten bizarrely walked past his opponents, opting not to shake their hands.
River Plate players bemusedly looked on, as the rest of the Urawa players followed and did shake their opponents’ hands.
Hoibraten has now offered a reasoning for why – and it’s that he didn’t realise he was supposed to.
Taking to social media, the 30-year-old defender posted: ‘To the River Plate fans. I forgot to shake hands because the setup was new. I was confused and in my element, and I didn’t understand what we were supposed to do. That’s why I walked away without shaking hands.
‘It seems like I don’t care about you or the players. This was never my intention. I apologised to the players in the locker room after the game, and now I apologise to you. Congratulations on the win! All the best in the upcoming games.’
After the two teams lined up, Hoibraten shook hands with the officials before walking past the River Plate players. Some looked on curiously, while others saw the funny side of things.
Hoibraten can play at centre back or left back and lined up in the middle of defence on this occasion. He joined his current side in 2023, having previously played for the likes of Bodo/Glimt and Lillestrom. He is also a former Norway Under-21 international.
On Monday, meanwhile, referee Cesar Arturo Ramos sent off Boca Juniors’ Jorge Figal – but not before brandishing something else entirely alongside a red card.
Ramos oversaw a testy 2-2 draw between the Argentine giants and Benfica, as former Manchester United man Ander Herrera and Andrea Belotti were sent off earlier in the match as well.
But things took a confusing turn when Figal was given his marching orders in the 88th minute, as Ramos also pulled out what appeared to be a religious symbol.
Along with his red card, Ramos held up what fans have identified as an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a depiction of the Virgin Mary popular in Mexico.
