-
Roberto Martinez claims that the media spreads untrue information about his team.
Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has accused the media of spreading fake news over a reported rift in his Red Devils squad.
Recently, the French newspaper L’Equipe reported an altercation between Kevin De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen, and Eden Hazard in the locker room after the team’s Sunday defeat to Morocco.
That defeat has left Belgium uncertain of their World Cup future. A win against Croatia will take them into the knockout stages as group winners if Morocco fails to win. However, if Belgium draw and Morocco match or better that result, they will be going home earlier than expected.
L’Equipe reported that striker Romelu Lukaku was required to physically pull apart his fuming teammates during an inquest into the defeat. Martinez didn’t appreciate the stories and hinted at a larger ploy from the media to unsettle his side.
He said: “You’ve got some outlets in Belgium who are quite happy to jump on fake news, which is quite astonishing. It has made the group more aware that the less they listen to the noise from the outside, the better.
RELATED:
- Reece James lists top three “hardest players” he has ever encountered.
- World Cup: Roberto Martinez gives candid appraisal after Belgium narrowly defeated Canada.
- Roberto Martinez offers verdict on Belgium’s ‘golden generation’.
“A World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world and there are many World Cups getting played. You can see that maybe a country like France did a good job with a story that became the main talking point of the outlets in Belgium.
‘It shows that maybe there is more desire to find negative news around this team than get the nation together, support this team, enjoy the talent of the best generation that we’ve ever had in Belgian football.
“That was a lesson for all of us that we are here on our own. We are here to fight for what we believe is the way we want to play and hopefully the fans – the real fans – of the Red Devils can enjoy the process.”
Belgium missed their best chances to win a trophy with their golden generation at both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, where they finished third. As a result, the ageing team is not expected to advance far in the Qatar tournament.