Jude Bellingham demands more anti-racism measures but ‘doubts’ it will happen
Jude Bellingham has demanded football’s authorities – particularly in Spain – do more to combat racism but admitted: “I doubt that will happen.”
The England midfielder’s call came after his Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni was racially abused by a Mallorca supporter after scoring last weekend.
It is the latest of a number of incidents in Spanish football, with another Real player in Vinicius Jr having been a regular victim of offensive chanting and gestures.
Bellingham, speaking to media ahead of Real’s Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday, said: “I think in the games where we go away, in La Liga especially, you almost get so used to it that I wasn’t even aware of the (Tchouameni) incident. I think that’s a massive problem in itself.
“More has got to be done, whether it’s the punishment and how you react to it or how you move proactively to (stop) this kind of thing.
“I think it’s a horrible way for a player to prepare for a game, knowing that they’re probably going to get racially abused. It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.
“The people in power need to do more. No-one deserves that kind of thing.
“It’s definitely a call-out for the people who are in charge to take control. I doubt that will happen.
“It’s going to be something that I imagine we will still have to just deal with going into games. You have just got to play your game and hope that the people look after you, and they’re not doing it well enough at the moment.”
Vinicius broke down in tears at a press conference as he discussed his experiences of racism ahead of Brazil’s recent friendly against Spain in Madrid.
Bellingham expressed sympathy for his colleague.
He said: “I think the blame gets shifted more onto him because of maybe his playing style and the way he likes to express himself and I don’t think that’s fair.
“The game would miss players like Vini if he decided to take a break because of this thing. More needs to be done to support these players.”
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Champions League
4 key battles that will decide Champions League quarter-final second legs
Champions League quarter-final second legs kick off on Tuesday with Barcelona vs PSG and Dortmund vs Atletico
Bayern Munich vs Arsenal and Man City vs Real Madrid to take place on Wednesday
Analysis on how these four ties will be decided and by who
By Sean Walsh
Apr 16, 2024
Who will reach the semi-finals?
Who will reach the semi-finals? / Franco Arland/Getty Images, Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images, Visionhaus/Getty Images, James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
This is it, people. The clocks have gone forward, evenings are lighter, and the Champions League campaign has reached its business end.
Everything is still to play for heading into the second legs of all four quarter-finals and it remains ever so difficult to pick a favourite to go all the way.
How will these second legs be decided? Let's look at four key battles that will determine their outcome and decide this year's Champions League final four.
Will Kylian Mbappe break free from Jules Kounde & Ronald Araujo?
Kylian Mbappe, Ronald Araujo
Mbappe barely got a sniff last week / Catherine Steenkeste/GettyImages
This is likely Kylian Mbappe's last chance to win a first-ever Champions League for hometown club Paris Saint-Germain ahead of his expected departure this summer.
During last week's 3-2 loss at home to Barcelona, he sure as hell didn't look like a man intent on delivering an historic European Cup before packing his belongings and heading to pastures new.
That was, in part, due to the heroic and dogged defending of Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo on the right-hand side of Barca's defence, doubling up on Mbappe and limiting his chances.
If Mbappe is to sign off from PSG in a blaze of European glory, he needs to find a way to break through that blockade.
Niclas Fullkrug, your time is now
Atletico Madrid v Borussia Dortmund: Quarter-final First Leg - UEFA Champions League 2023/24
Fullkrug will come in for Haller / Sebastian El-Saqqa - firo sportphoto/GettyImages
Sebastien Haller is in line to miss Borussia Dortmund's second leg with Atletico Madrid having picked up an injury at the weekend.
They will instead have to rely upon veteran striker Niclas Fullkrug - a target man of extreme Bundesliga heritage.
Maybe that's the best way to penetrate Atletico's elite deep block is to throw a man made of bricks at it. Maybe they'll wilt under that sort of aerial bombardment in the Signal Iduna Park cauldron. Hey, it's worth a shot if Dortmund are to overturn a 2-1 deficit.
Arsenal's bid to silence tormentor-in-chief Harry Kane
Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba
An almighty task awaits Arsenal's defenders / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Harry Kane has scored 15 goals in his 20 matches against Arsenal, registering his latest from the penalty spot in Bayern Munich's 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium last week.
Thomas Tuchel's men were happy to cede possession that evening but it will likely be roles reversed back at the Allianz Arena - the Gunners have made a habit of getting results out of these big away games by setting up slightly more conservatively than usual.
The onus will be on Kane both to find space in a crowded box likely to contain four defenders standing at over six-feet tall as well as drop deep to set away runners like Leroy Sane or poacher-extraordinaire's like Thomas Muller.
Erling Haaland fights Antonio Rudiger as well as 'League Two' jibes
Erling Haaland, Antonio Rudiger
Rudiger's had Haaland's number / Ion Alcoba Beitia/GettyImages
The Spanish press have made a big song and dance over Erling Haaland potentially playing for Real Madrid one day, but his three performances against them over the last 12 months have done little to suggest he has the Champions League pedigree for them.
Is he League Two standard in general play as Roy Keane said? No, but Antonio Rudiger has done one hell of a job to make it look that way. The charismatic German has been back to his s***housing best of late, metaphorically smothering Haaland and literally tweaking Jack Grealish's nipples at the Santiago Bernabeu last Tuesday.
Haaland can hush his doubters and nay-sayers with a goal-scoring performance to knock Madrid out of the Champions League. If not, those rumblings will only continue.
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE
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'It was weird' - Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals how Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool players his exit plans
Jurgen Klopp is leaving Liverpool this summer
Players were told at the same time as news went public
Trent Alexander-Arnold recalls the 'weird' moment
By Jamie Spencer
Apr 16, 2024
Jurgen Klopp will no longer be Liverpool manager next season
Jurgen Klopp will no longer be Liverpool manager next season / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed that he and the rest of the squad knew something was different the day that Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving the club.
Klopp went public in late January with his decision to step down as manager at the end of the season. He had informed the club hierarchy of that intention in November, but the players found out at basically the same time as the fans and the rest of the football world.
What was out of the ordinary is that the Liverpool players were gathered for a team meeting as soon as they arrived at the club's Kirkby training ground.
"[It was] weird, because we never have a meeting at that time, never," Alexander-Arnold explained to Gary Neville on the latest edition of The Overlap. "We normally get in at 10:00 or 10:30 and then have a meeting at 12:00 just before we go out to train. But when we got in, we had a meeting at 10:30 and that's the first time I’ve ever had a meeting at 10:30.
Jurgen Klopp
Klopp only has a few weeks left as Liverpool boss / James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages
"Everyone's in the changing room, [Klopp] is just stood there and you can see the lads all looking round, thinking, 'What’s going on?' And then he just says, 'Look, lads, I wanted to let you know'. It was breaking [publicly] at the same time. He knew that another season would be too much.
"Something he taught us and something I've adopted as a player is take it season by season, no matter what situation you're in. There's no point stressing about the next season because that's completely different. There's so many lessons he's taught me, but that's probably one of the biggest."
As the clock winds down on Klopp’s time at Liverpool after nearly nine years, the Reds have already won the Carabao Cup and are still targeting a treble before the campaign is out, with Premier League and Europa League trophies both within their sights.
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