Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic explained why he refused to shake hands with Birmingham City boss Chris Davies following his side’s 3–2 victory at St Andrew’s, revealing that tensions had boiled over after a fiery first-half confrontation between both benches.
The altercation erupted near the touchline shortly before halftime, with players and staff from both teams becoming involved. Jakirovic claimed that Davies swore at him during the dispute and that a security staff member told him to “go back to Croatia.” Davies, however, has denied using foul language toward his opposite number.
Jakirovic said after the match:
“I stayed in my technical area the whole time — they came into ours. I got a yellow card because I showed an imaginary one for a bad foul on Kyle Joseph, which I thought was close to a red. When I asked Chris why he came into my area, he said, ‘F*** you,’ and then someone from security told me to go back to Croatia.”
“That was disrespectful. I didn’t shake hands because of that, and for me, that’s a shame, but I can handle it. I respect this country and I’m here to do my job. I’m not afraid of anyone. These things happen in football — it’s emotional and stressful. I’ll move on; I got the three points and I’m going home happy.”
When asked about the incident, Davies downplayed the situation, insisting he didn’t hear any offensive remarks:
“There was a bit of a melee, as you sometimes get, but nothing out of the ordinary. He chose not to shake my hand — that’s never happened to me before. It is what it is.”
“I didn’t hear anything like that, so I can’t really comment. Emotions were running high, everyone was trying to calm things down. Unfortunately, it ended with him not wanting to shake hands.”
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