Pundit criticises Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.
Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha hit out this weekend at the rough treatment he has been receiving from opposing defenders.
Speaking after scoring the winner in Palace’s 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town, Zaha told BBC Sport he believes somebody would have to break his leg to receive a red card for fouling him.
BBC pundit Garth Crooks used his BBC Sport column to hit back at Zaha, effectively telling the Crystal Palace winger to keep quiet.
Crooks wrote: “Wilfried, stop this whinging and whining in your after-match interviews. You’re playing in a contact sport and the better the player the more likely they are to get kicked. Why haven’t you worked that out yet?
“Leave the referees and the pundits to condemn the assassins, you just keep scoring sensational goals, receiving the plaudits and signing the massive contracts for all this inconvenience.
“That’s the way it works and it’s not a bad exchange. Oh, and by the way, I never heard George Best or Johan Cruyff complaining to the press about players kicking them.”
Zaha has tried it this way and had no luck, so it was out of frustration that he felt the need to vent following his latest appearance.
Crooks argues he has made himself more of a target for defenders, but if the referees step up their focus on what is happening to him and hand out harsher punishments, his outburst will look like the right move.
The rant from Crooks looks more than a little unfair when Zaha is simply trying to protect his health and career.
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