Bale scored twice for Wales in 2-1 World Cup play-off semi-final win against Austria; after the win Real Madrid star called out the Spanish press for their coverage of him: "It's disgusting and they should also be ashamed of themselves."
Friday 25 March 2022 18:44, UK
Gareth Bale has again hit out at Spanish newspaper Marca for "slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism" - after he was called "parasite" this week.
Marca had criticised Bale after he linked up with Wales having been absent for Real Madrid in Sunday's El Clasico against Barcelona.
The Spanish newspaper ran the image of a happy looking Bale and Joe Rodon in Welsh training gear alongside the headline "it doesn't hurt anymore". Bale was also called a "parasite" by a journalist for Marca.
But Bale responded to those critics in emphatic fashion by scoring two superb goals - including one long-range free-kick - to earn Wales a 2-1 victory over Austria on Thursday night, to move his country to within one victory of their first World Cup appearance since 1958.
Asked after the game if he was sending a specific message and to who, Bale told Sky Sports: "I don't need to send a message, honestly. It's a waste of my time. It's disgusting and they should also be ashamed of themselves. I'm not fussed. End of."
And on Friday, Bale took to social media to describe the Spanish press' reporting of him as "disgusting". The Real Madrid winger revealed that "malicious stories" like Marca's can impact footballers' mental health and he wants media organisations to be held "accountable" for what they write.
"At a time where people are taking their own lives because of the callousness and relentlessness of the media, I want to know, who is holding these journalists and the news outlets that allow them to write articles like this, accountable?" Bale said on Twitter.
"Fortunately I have developed a thick skin during my time in the public spotlight, but that doesn't mean articles like these don't cause damage and upset personally and professionally to those at the receiving end of these malicious stories. I have witnessed the toll the media can take on people's mental and physical health.
"The media expect superhuman performances from professional athletes, and will be the first to celebrate with them when they deliver, yet instead of commiserating with them when they show an ounce of human error, they are torn to shreds instead, encouraging anger and disappointment in their fans.
"The everyday pressures on athletes is immense, and it's as clear as day, how negative media attention could easily send an already stressed athlete, or anybody in the public eye, over the edge. I hope that by the time our children are of an age where they are able to ingest news, that journalism ethics and standards will have been enforced more stringently.
"So I want to use my platform to encourage change in the way we publicly talk about, and criticise people, simply for the most part, not meeting the often unrealistic expectations that are projected onto them. We all know who the real parasite is!"
Bale's performance and subsequent interview did little to avert the attention of the Spanish press, with Marca leading with a retort to the Welshman on Friday morning, accusing him of faking a back injury that kept him out of Real Madrid's humiliating loss to Barcelona at the weekend, four days before he scored both goals in Wales' win over Austria.
"Never pay attention to Bale" was the latest headline in relation to the forward, with a long editorial following which included an unnamed source from the Real Madrid training ground quoted as saying his appearance in Cardiff was "one day less for it to stop being a problem".
The 32-year-old's decision to miss El Clasico last weekend was again called into question too, with the piece ending: "Last Sunday he decided that the discomfort he felt in his back was enough to say no to the Clasico. Too much to even be on the bench. Four days later he has been decisive in Wales' win. That's Bale."
The 32-year-old has played only a handful of games at Real Madrid this season and Spanish media criticised him for missing their 4-0 home loss in the Clasico on Sunday with an apparent back injury.
"Bale. Go. Home. Now. In that order," read the headline on a column by AS editor-in-chief Tomas Roncero.
"Last night he rose again, as a kind of Braveheart of the country of the Dragon with a formidable performance. Real Madrid would be proud of him if it weren't for the fact that four days ago he left the team stranded, alluding to a false back injury, and miserably erased himself from the Clasico against Barca."
Spanish football expert Alvaro Montero:
"There is only one problem and that is the feeling inside the club, reported by the press, and especially with the fans, that Gareth Bale has a lack of commitment because he wants to go into every international break and he plays really well with his national team - but with Real Madrid he is always injured and he doesn't play in the games he is supposed to play.
"We have to ask Gareth Bale, and we have to ask [Jonathan] Barnett his agent why he has not [appeared to] prove his commitment that he showed in the very first part of his career at Real Madrid.
"For instance, this year he has lost 26 games, not counting those two [he missed] because of Covid, but due to injuries, 26 games and he had played for the national team in four or five games for 320-odd minutes and with Real Madrid only 270-odd minutes.
"I mean there is a problem, and he has to explain - not to the Spanish press - but I guess to the club and especially the fans in a press conference or how he wants why."
