MADRID: Zinedine Zidane insists he has no problem with Gareth Bale despite substituting him at half-time during Real Madrid´s Champions League clash against Juventus last week.
Sources have told AFP that Bale was surprised and angry at Zidane´s decision to take him off at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Real trailing 2-0 in a match they went on to lose 3-1. The defending champions progressed 4-3 on aggregate.
Bale was then not included in the squad for Sunday´s 2-1 win over Malaga in La Liga but Real insisted the plan had always been to rest players for the match.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Raphael Varane were also spared the trip to La Rosaleda.
Real host Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and Bale will be hoping for another chance to state his case ahead of the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich next week.
Against Juve, Karim Benzema made way for Bale by dropping to the bench but Zidane says neither player feels sidelined by recent selections.
"No I don´t think so, this is football," Zidane said on Tuesday. "I don't see either of them looking sad, they are training well.
"I spoke to the pair of them the other day, they would both like to score more goals but everyone is working well.
"It is always going to happen in a side like ours. There are players in good form and playing well but I have to be ready always to evaluate who is the best players for the team at any given time."
Zidane has prefered Benzema as a partner for Ronaldo up front this season but the Frenchman has managed only one goal in his last nine games.
"We are not worried, we know the quality he has," Zidane said. "He has to score goals of course, he knows that - he knows he can do other things but he has to score goals.
"He does suffer a little bit when he misses chances but the solution is easy. He has to keep working.
"It is just a little blip he is in at the moment — we had that as a team earlier in the season but we kept working. If he keeps working, I´m sure in a short time he will be scoring again."
Real are chasing an unprecedented third consecutive Champions League crown and Bayern's hopes of stopping them have been dented by an injury to key midfielder, Arturo Vidal.
Vidal is set to undergo surgery on a knee problem and looks certain to miss the first leg.
"Vidal is an important player but nothing will change," Zidane said. "Bayern have a very big squad, with lots of good players, and they will replace him for sure."
I have no problem with Gareth Bale, says Zinedine Zidane
I have no problem with Gareth Bale, says Zinedine Zidane
- Bale was then not included in the squad for Sunday´s 2-1 win over Malaga
- Zidane says the plan was to always rest the Welshman
Campaigners demand action after 4 Premier League players racially abused on ‘appalling weekend’
- Anti-discrimination campaigners have bemoaned an “appalling weekend” in the Premier League after four players were targeted with racial abuse on their social media accounts following games
- It said “this has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they’ve received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly”
LONDON: Anti-discrimination campaigners bemoaned an “appalling weekend” in the Premier League after four players were targeted with racial abuse on their social media accounts following games.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and Burnley midfielder Hannibal Mejbri shared images of racist messages they were sent privately over Instagram following their teams’ match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday that finished 1-1.
Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare showed racially aggravated messages he received on Instagram after a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace on Sunday, during which he had a penalty saved.
Sunderland said its winger, Romaine Mundle, was also subjected to “vile online racist abuse” after his substitute appearance in a 3-1 home loss to Fulham.
Kick It Out, a British-based anti-discrimination charity, repeated its calls for platforms to do more to address the problem.
“This has been an appalling weekend after four players called out the racist abuse they’ve received on social media. But the sad fact is, we know it happens regularly,” the organization said.
“The message from them is loud and clear: action must follow. Players cannot be expected to tolerate this behavior, and nor should anyone else.”
The Premier League also condemned the abuse of the players.
“There are serious consequences for anybody found guilty of discrimination and we will offer our full support with their investigations,” the competition said. “Football is for everyone — there is no room for racism.”
The 22-year-old Mundle has since deleted his Instagram account, the Sunderland Echo newspaper reported.
The incidents came days after UEFA began an investigation into claims by Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior that he was racially abused on the field by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League game in Lisbon.
