Beckham relates to death threat, praises Mourinho
BERLIN: Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham, who has been threatened with death, told a German weekly that he understood what Swedish referee Anders Frisk was going through.
Frisk, regarded as one of soccer’s top referees, retired after he was repeatedly threatened by Chelsea fans following the English club’s Feb 23 Champions League loss to Barcelona.
“That is terrible. I can understand him,” Beckham told Sunday’s Bild am Sonntag. “I’ve been threatened with death a number of times. That happens again and again in professional football.”
Beckham angered English fans by being ejected in a 1998 World Cup loss to Argentina. A year later, police foiled an attempt to kidnap his wife Victoria and son Brooklyn. In 2000, someone cut the brake lines in his Ferrari.
“These threats have changed my life and the life of my family,” the England captain said. “It’s not fun, but I can live with it. It’s the price we have to pay.”
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been blamed by some for inciting the wrath of the club’s fans against Frisk.
The Portuguese coach disputed a red card given to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, which reduced his team to 10 men for most of the second half.
Beckham, however, praised the controversial manager for the way he deflected criticism of his players onto himself, something that he said has been absent at Real Madrid.
“Mourinho is a very good manager and a great personality. He takes care of his players, protects them and consciously turns the criticism onto himself,” Beckham said.
“In Real Madrid, the whole criticism is directed at the players at the moment. Mourinho treats football players the way they should be treated.”
Real Madrid, despite boasting some of the sport's biggest superstars, were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus. The Spanish title is nearly gone, too, since the club trail runaway leaders Barcelona.
Beckham had no comment on reports that some of Real Madrid’s stars may be forced to leave the club, with the names often floated including Raul Gonzalez, Luis Figo and himself.
“My contract still runs two years – there’s been rumours since I joined Real Madrid,” he said. – AP
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