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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Gerard Pique's Real Madrid joke won't be an issue for Spain - Del Bosque



Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says it would be "childish" for any of his players to make an issue of the joke Barcelona's Gerard Pique made at Real Madrid's expense on Sunday.


During raucous celebrations on Sunday, Pique joked to partying fans that he wanted to thank "Kevin Roldan," adding: "It all started with you!"

 This was a reference to Roldan having performed at Cristiano Ronaldo's 30th birthday party in January and later publishing social media photos that were not well received by Madrid fans and pundits as their team had been beaten 4-0 by Atletico Madrid earlier that day.

 Madrid and Spain right-back Dani Carvajal has said he was not offended, but the joke has angered some Madrid supporters and pundits. Some fans attending Spain's first open training session of the week, ahead of Thursday's friendly against Costa Rica and Sunday's Euro 2014 qualifier in Belarus, shouted some mild abuse at Pique as he left the session with an apparent light injury issue.

 Del Bosque, though, told radio show "Al Primer Toque" that the issue had not even been raised among the players, and anybody who reacted badly to a joke made during the celebrations was being "childish."

 "I have not seen any problems," the former Real Madrid player and coach said. "There is no need to bother anymore about it. It will be childish to mention it. People are grown-ups and can take it as it is. "There can always be some stepping over the line, but with respect. There have been worse celebrations. Everyone can enjoy their wins. These are good sportsmen and, if anyone was damaging for the national team, they would not be called up."

 Del Bosque was also asked about the situation for Barcelona's new signing Aleix Vidal, who has received his first call-up for Spain due to his excellent end-of-season form for Sevilla, and is expected to make his debut against Costa Rica on Thursday.

 Vidal will not be able to make his Barca debut until 2016, due to the Catalan club's FIFA-imposed ban on registering any new players before January, and Del Bosque said that would likely rule him out of international action through the autumn.

 "We would be more concerned about him getting action, or it would be more difficult to perform," Del Bosque said. "If he is not playing, even though he is training, if he has no games, with the enormous competition for places there is, it would be more difficult."

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