Sampaoli insults traffic cop

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli has apologised for insulting a traffic officer who stopped him at a checkpoint. Sampaoli belittled the officer over his pay grade and said he was sorry in a statement yesterday.

A witness videoed the incident on Sunday and posted it on social media.

“I totally regret what happened,” Sampaoli said. “Anger, coming from a discussion in which I was wrong, made me say words that do not represent in any way my convictions or my beliefs.”

The coach was stopped after attending his daughter’s wedding near Casilda, a city 360 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires.

Sampaoli said he would apologise personally to the officer he insulted.

The video shows Sampaoli yelling out of the car, accompanied by the traffic officer.

“You are making me walk two blocks, idiot! You make 100 pesos (US$5.50) a month,” the coach said.

Seven other people were with him in the car, which made the officer stop the vehicle.

Casilda security secretary Federico Censi, who oversees the traffic division, told a local radio that Sampaoli called him to apologise for his behavior.

In the statement, Sampaoli said: “Salaries do not represent the qualities or the value of any human being. I ask forgiveness to our society for this bad example.”