Albiol: We should not crucify Navarro

Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol believes people should not crucify David Navarro following his elbow on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Levante defender caught the Portuguese with a flailing arm after just two minutes of Sunday’s clash between the sides at the Ciutat de Valencia, resulting in the Madrid man needing stitches to a wound above an eye.

However, Albiol has leapt to defend Navarro from accusations it was a deliberate act.

“I know David and have a good relationship with him. He also played with my brother, is from Valencia and I’ve known him for a long time,” Albiol said in an interview with Movistar in Panama where he is preparing for Spain’s Wednesday friendly.

“The important thing is that we won and Cristiano is okay, nothing more. I don’t think we should crucify the player for his action.”

Albiol feels incidents of this type ‘sometimes happen in sport’ and said that the tension during the game could have influenced what went on afterwards, with accusations that Sergio Ballesteros had assaulted Pepe.

“Levante made a great effort but in the end they lost, so perhaps after not taking a point off us they said some things that they shouldn’t have said following the game.

“They were wrong because the referee did not influence the result,” he declared.

Tags Albiol Ballesteros Navarro Pepe
La Liga - Club News