‘HE IS A LIABILITY’ 😳 Craig Burley SOUNDS OFF on Vini Jr.’s ‘MORONIC’ red card | ESPN FC

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Craig Burley sounds off on Vinicius Jr.'s red card: 'He is a liability'

The show reviews Real Madrid's narrow win and zeroes in on Vinicius Jr.'s hair-pull red card and his reaction. Craig Burley says Vinicius is out of control and has become a liability, while Luis argues Madrid should still start him in the Clasico if he is banned for only one game, though he also doubts Madrid are ready to win La Liga.

Luis Garcia and Craig Burley join Kay Murray on ESPN FC to discuss Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Villarreal, where Vinicius Junior had a goal disallowed and received a red card for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up. ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC

Transcript

Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPNFC. Kar and Craig Burley here in the studio. Club football is back. Lots to get through, including the Premier League, but we will kick things off with the game that we've just finished watching. Real Madrid against Val. Real Madrid back at the Bernabo after. >> That's weird. It didn't feel that Val had 15 efforts on goal. We just didn't feel it that kind of game. >> No. 1 nil though. It would finish for Real Madrid. They did hold on the goal from Yandia Monday. the difference. However, they are still in third spot in La Liga standings right now and Real Bettis have a chance to leapfrog them if they are to win their game that will be played on this match day. Barcelona top of the table, Athletici ahead of Real Madrid now as it stands. Athletic the team who beat them before the international break at the Metropolitano. Feel it's been well documented in this last year at least. Hair pulling in the game. We've seen a few incidents of it. Luis, how many times did you see hair hair pulling during your time playing? Because I don't remember, not even on a training pitch, never mind on a football pitch. I don't remember this kind of scenario raising its head skeused upon as often as it's doing these days. It I don't remember this being being part of the game. >> I I remember that that it happens before. No, not maybe on the run, but on the on the on the corner kicks, there's been always this battling, pushing, and I I've seen a couple of times just a little pull from from the back. But I think that was back in the day when there were no V, there were not that many ideas watching onto the game and you try to to get out of of the of the focus to to the player. But on these days that everything is is strange that actually these kind of things happen. And I think that is because you are not really focused on what you're doing and and you do things that you're going to regret right after. So yeah, I'm really surprised. I think it was a a not not an intention of hurting the player, but just a reaction because he received a little bit of a push. So he tried just to to go ahead and and he found himself just pulling pulling the the hair of the player and and right after that's why I think he was surprised. But um yeah, it's surprising that he did that and and he reacted that way because if the referee see it of VC it, you know that you're going to be out of the game. >> He actually jolted the player's head back a little bit. Uh okay, let's let's get to Venic. Okay, Real Madrid won the game. Didn't play brilliant. Played better in the second half. Made some changes at halftime. Made a change again early in the second half. Win the game. Certainly were not brilliant, but were better second 45 and had to win. The guys talked about that on the commentary. Let's get to the big story. Was being left out of the team? Was being dropped not enough of a headline for Venites Jr.? Does he just want it to be about him all the time? Does he not understand the laws of the game? Does he not understand the consequences to his teammates, to his coach, to a suspension that's coming up now, to a match that you're going down to 10 men that could cost you points with the classical coming up in two weeks? They're already under pressure. And then the reaction to the red card is moronic. He's out of control. He's a great Look, do I think he's a supremely talented individual? Yes, I do. I do. But we're not talking about that because he's not playing well enough recently. That's why he's dropped. And here we are. A player comes onto the field to make a difference and clearly infringes on an opponent in a way that's a direct red card. That's idiotic. That's that's a liability. And then to react to the referee where Rudiger is having to shield the referee because this nutcase is losing the plot because he doesn't understand the consequences of his actions. It's just crazy. He's not 16 or 17 years old. He's been around long enough to know that actions have consequences. K. And this is diluting. And I think this is part of the problem when you're not playing well. And he signed a new deal, by the way. They've put a lot of money in his bank to say, "We we're we're trusting you. You've won the sort of battle of the wells. We don't want to lose you to Saudi Arabia, wherever it is. We'll give you the money, but we need performances." They're not getting it. Not only are they not getting performances, he's a liability. And when he's left out the side, he's also liable to spit his dummy out. And and the way he's playing, he's been left out today. And who's to say after suspension, he's not going to be left out for the classical and then he'll really throw all the the toys out of the bath. >> And that's if it's just a one match suspension. If it's a two-atch suspension, then it's >> Well, here's here's the issue. Here's the deal now for him. He's got these big games, Champions League and La Liga games coming up before the 25th of October before the game in Barcelona against the informed team in Spain, if not Europe. He's now suspended for we don't know how many games because sometimes they just make it up. Uh so we'll find that out probably in the next 48 hours. But what if Real Madrid click and Diamandi and you know all of a sudden he's he's sat there on his backside and they've got two or three really good results. then how is he going to put him back in for this huge game coming up in Barcelona? That that's the issue. It has a sort of domino effect not only for the team but for him himself because if Diamandi who's got himself a goal today and that will take a bit of pressure off him if he performs and Aduler plays a bit further forward as he can and as he did then he may find himself struggling to get in the team for that big game. So it I I just don't understand it. I mean, if he comes on, he slide tackle someday and he miss times a tackle and he gets two yellow. Okay, I'll buy him a bit of time. Right. All right. That that you shouldn't you should have. But not this. Not this. There's enough going on at Real Madrid and it's been documented this week and we've documented it on the show. There's enough going on at Real Madrid with Mbappe, with being off the pace, with Ven playing well, with all these scenarios that Mourinho and I'm trying to cut him a bit slack here. He's trying to deal with all this and maybe we're finding out why it was so difficult for Chab Alonzo because these issues just keep surfacing and it takes somebody to put fires out and Mourinho's tried to do that this week to the best of his ability and now he's going to have to go and set in a press conference and probably not talk about a one- nil win. He's probably going to have to talk about why did you leave him out? What do you think about Venites? How long is he going to be suspended for? Can you trust this player? All these scenarios all because this guy cannot behave himself on a football field. >> Yeah, it's going to get down to that can you trust him Luis because if he's suspended for the just one game then he would be available for Eláico. If it's two, it takes him out of that anyway. However, in your opinion, if it is just one game, would you start him in Eláico if you're Jose Mourinho considering his form this season? >> Yeah, I think so. I think so. Okay. in the end is a very important game and he can change the the the way that the the league is is going right now. Real Madrid I don't think that they are ready to to win La Liga. I think at the moment by the way the the the result that are happening by how they are playing the moment that they are having where to get a result today they they needed so much with and we didn't see many good plays many good balls h but yes they can win at classicalico but they can win a classical with the best players on the field if you think that because Benios Jr. at that moment because you know he's a he's a football he's a fantastic football player and it's true that sometimes I agree with Craig's ability you never know what is going to happen but this has been happening for many years because he's his personality and we need to understand that not all the players can go through to to to the same tunnel and not everyone is going to follow the same way the rules of the the laws of football as K was was talking we understand that he's a different character a different personality but we have to agree also that is a fantastic football player. Any bar if Real Madrid wants to win against um Bar Barcelona, this Barcelona right now with the confident that they are playing in the moment they are they are having they need the best of Benios and you know that one game it could be enough for Benios Jr. to change everything, every situation and destroy the opponent if he's focus. It could be that game or not. That will depend a lot on on Mourinho. He he been trying today to comfort him. We saw on the celebration. He went there. He hug him. He talked to him. He's trying to bring the best of it, but it's still not yet. >> Bit of a wasted run up the line from Mourinho, wasn't it? Which is getting a bit old now. Here here's here here's the problem. Well, when you're a player, nobody wants a lazy player in the team, right? I'm not this is not I'm not this is not in reference to to to to Vaness who's been lazy, but if you've got a I'm trying to make a context here. If you've got a lazy player in your team, as a teammate, you might put up with it, and you probably will put up with it if he's delivering the goods. if he's a striker uh or a midfielder and this midfielder plays the most wonderful passes in assess but he doesn't do a lot of work I might swallow that and I'll swallow my striker not chasing back if he's getting me 30 to 40 goals a year and winning me big games it's the same thing with his junior maybe maybe I can brush over as a manager or as a supporter these incidents that are needless but they do happen Now and again I can maybe brush them over if he's on the top of his game and I'm getting the other side of Venitius Jr. It's not ideal but I'll take it. I'll take the odd incident and the odd suspension for a blistering performance six weeks out of seven. But that's not the case. That's not the case. We have a player at the moment who is a big a liability as he's ever been and and the more experience he gets, he's equally as bad as when he was younger, but that player's not performing now. So, we have the it's a double-edged sword. We have the un unreliability that's still there, and we have a player who's not playing well. that's that's not a recipe that's that's going to work. So, he's going to have to figure out which one he wants to be. And and at this moment in time, he he's he's he's neither. It's it's it's in his the ball's in his court. Play better, work harder, behave yourself, show the emotion. I I get that. This is not emotion. It's stupidity. You know, it's not emotion. It's it's it's it's thoughtlessness. and and today and and maybe 10 years ago it would have been fine K because nobody would have spotted that and because we never saw it but it's not the world we live in. You you you have cameras all over. You're generally getting picked up and everything and you can't you can't behave like that. And if there's anybody out there that thinks it wasn't a red card, go and stick your head in the sand, right? Because it's a red card all day. You cannot pull anybody's hair in a aggressive manner. And that was >> I was pleased to see him because I think he's a very young talent that that that is going to give a lot of joy to to the Real Madrid supporters and the ones that we all love this kind of player that they are they are skillful that they they got ability they are his strength and his speed is fantastic. So I think is he needs the the confidence on him. He needs few games he needs to get involved into the game. He needs to feel the the the trust of the players. We saw today once again they were playing with him. They were they know that with him on the ball this Real Madrid can be more dangerous and I think it was a fantastic action that one even Mourinho we saw that he changed a little bit the system. He put Balber on the right side. He changed the the position from the left to the right and that's where he found himself in that occasion. So I think he was a a pretty good so far is his first start for Real Madrid but I'm sure he can deliver a lot and better performances in the future.