"Son Heung-min's life threat" Salazar's shameless mouth, "There was no way to stop it except for a tackle" a red card

*This content was translated by AI.

Aaron Salazar (27, Allahuelense), who made a "murder tackle" on Son Heung-min (34, LA FC), opened his mouth about the situation at the time.

Son Heung-min overcame the injury crisis in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2026 North American Caribbean Football Confederation (CONCACAF) Champions Cup against Alahuelense in Morela Soto, Estadio Alejandro, Costa Rica on the 18th.

In the process of Son Heung-min breaking through the opponent's side, Salazar tackled Son Heung-min excessively regardless of the ball, and Son Heung-min collapsed painfully. Son Heung-min, who was extremely angry, immediately kicked off his seat and ran to Salazar and pushed him in the face and strongly protested. Eventually, the situation calmed down after the referee gave everyone a yellow card.

Costa Rica's "La Nacion" reported an interview with Salazar in the joint coverage area (Mix Zone) shortly after the match. According to the media, when asked by reporters about the collision with Son Heung-min, Salazar stressed that tackling was a tactical inevitable choice at the time.

"At the time, Son was very angry because of the tackle," Salazar said. When he approached me, I explained that the only way to stop him was to restrain him like that," he said.

"Originally, catching the uniform would have been the first option. But Son was already so far away from me, so the best thing I could do was tackle," he added. He defended that his rough play was not intentional malice, but the last option to prevent the breakthrough.

Son Heung-min also said he forgave himself. "When I explained the situation, Son Heung-min understood me and told me everything was fine," he said.

He also explained the background of the tough defense tactics on the day. "As you can see, we kept key LA FC players like Son Heung-min in check throughout this tournament series by closely marking them. We had a strong, tough physical fight, and our defensive strategy started right there," he said.

Finally, Salazar concluded the interview by praising Son's skills. "Everyone knows that Son Heung-min is a world-class player," he said. "I needed (a rough defense) because he is a player who can perform better than anyone else if he has enough space," he said.

Foreign media were also surprised by Son Heung-min's play. Britain's "The Sun" reported on the 19th, "Son Heung-min was enraged by the opponent's rough tackle during the game and had a flash of melee," adding, "The highlight of the game was Son Heung-min's fierce anger rather than victory or defeat."

The media explained the situation at the time, saying, "The tension between the two teams exploded in an instant due to the unusual reaction of Son Heung-min, who is usually known for his gentle leadership."

On this day, there were a lot of rough fouls against Son Heung-min. Alahuelense came out with a thorough blockade operation to stop LA FC ace Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min had more than 15 fouls in the first game, and more than 10 fouls in the second game of the day.

Meanwhile, Son Heung-min, who left the English Premier League (EPL) to move to LA FC in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) last summer, is quickly becoming a league superstar and is actively playing. Even after joining during the last season, he scored more than one offensive point per game, scoring 12 goals and three assists in a total of 13 games. Since the opening of this season, he has continued his activities by scoring one goal and seven assists in eight official games.

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*This content was translated by AI.