Marcelo Bielsa has moved to diffuse another potential row after Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said he didn’t think it was right that Leeds were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award last week.
The award was given to Bielsa and to the Leeds squad after they let Aston Villa score in an explosive Championship game at the end of last season.
Leeds took the lead when a player was down injured and after a bust-up between the two sets of players Bielsa ordered his men to let Villa walk through them to equalise.
This act of sportsmanship was rewarded by FIFA but Lampard has had his say after he was at the centre of the spygate scandal when he was manager of Derby last season. [BBC]
“What happened with ‘spygate’ was very well documented, and then they got fined, the rules changed slightly because of it, I felt it was improper,” Lampard said.
“It was a strange decision for them to win that [Fair Play Award]. I think everyone had the same reaction to be fair, because a lot of news was put to ‘spygate’.
“And I think quite rightly so and it got dealt with in the right way, so when you go and give an award for fair play in the same year, then I don’t think it’s right.”
Asked about Lampard’s comments after Leeds’ 1-0 loss to Charlton on Saturday, Bielsa said, “Lampard understands that the fact we observed training is not enough to recognise what happened against Aston Villa. It’s what he thinks. I understand him. I respect him.”
His words were quoted by Athletic journalist Phil Hay.
Spygate is done and dusted
Much was written about the spygate scandal last season, and Lampard made it very clear that he thought Leeds had behaved badly. He was described as being furious and accused Bielsa of being “unsporting”. [The Sun]
However, ahead of the Championship play-off semi-finals against Leeds he said it was history. [Telegraph]
He couldn’t let it go, though. After beating Leeds in the second leg of the play-off semi-final he was photographed making a binoculars gesture while celebrating in the dressing room afterwards. [Mirror]
Now he’s moved to Chelsea he should really learn to let things go. Bielsa showed him the art of diplomacy with his response to Lampard’s comments, which just seem unnecessary now.
It would surely have been much better just to say that what Leeds did in the game against Aston Villa was a good example to everyone in the game – especially with Derby under investigation for the sale of their stadium. Something Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani said was “more cheating” than what Bielsa had done over spygate.