“I’ve never experienced it before”The Spanish national team coach does not believe in Yamal’s affairs
Barca coach Hansi Flick criticized the treatment of world starlet Lamine Yamal in the Spanish national team in September. Now the dispute is increasing. The La Roja coach was “speechless”.
The Spanish national football team is on track to qualify for next year’s World Cup. After four qualifying matches, the team has a perfect record. There were four wins, 15 goals scored and none conceded. Qualifying is a big possibility, but winning the group is still not perfect. There are still two games remaining, one in Georgia and the last at home on Sunday against Turkey, which mathematically still has a chance of overtaking Spain.
But the sport is starting to gain attention in Spain. There is a lot of anger surrounding Lamine Yamal, the FC Barcelona superstar who is in fact indispensable in the national team. But the 19-year-old player is now surprisingly unavailable for “La Roja”. Although he was nominated, he was removed again on Monday after he underwent an “invasive” medical procedure by the club without consulting the association.
The lightning-fast cancellation in Yamal was at the center of the conflict between FC Barcelona and the Spanish association. National coach Luis de la Fuente must now suffer the consequences. He found clear words for the club’s actions: “I’ve never experienced anything like that. I don’t think it’s normal. It’s a shock to all of us. You don’t know anything, there are no details, and most importantly, it’s a health problem – you’re speechless.”
Barcelona defended its own actions
The association also made clear in a statement how humiliating it was: “The RFEF medical department would like to express its shock and displeasure at learning that the player had undergone an invasive radio frequency procedure on the same morning at 13.47 on Monday, November 10, the day of the start of the training camp, to address complaints in his genital area.” Oddly enough: On Sunday, Yamal was still in action for Barcelona against Celta Vigo, scoring a 3-2 goal in first-half stoppage time (final score 3-2) and was substituted in the 97th minute as a tactical move to take a break.
At the request of the sports newspaper “AS” and other specialist Spanish media, FC Barcelona stressed that the club has the right to protect the player and have him treated by a doctor of his choice. This dispute has a history: Barca coach Hansi Flick had criticized in September that Yamal went to the national team with a small complaint and returned in pain. “In every match they were three goals ahead, and he played 79 and 73 minutes respectively (…) That’s not the way you treat players with care. Spain has great talent and must protect them,” complained Flick at the time.
