John Hartson told ITV on Sunday afternoon that the Italian fans booed Tottenham fan favourite, Gareth Bale, at Euro 2020 because he’s ‘world-class’.
Italy recorded a 1-0 win against Wales yesterday, who despite the defeat, still qualified to the knockout stages of the tournament, alongside the Group A table-toppers.
Bale may have endured an indifferent time in Tottenham colours this season, but it’s all now coming to plan in the colours of the Red Dragon at Euro 2020.
And after being booed by the Rome crowd yesterday, ex-Premier League striker, Hartson, shared a brilliant response to the reaction from those in blue.
“Well, I have never heard an away crowd boo bad player have you?” asked Hartson.
“It’s simply because he’s world-class. And he’s a big threat to this great Italian side, who are on such a great run.”
There was a lot of talk about Bale’s fitness, or lack of it, during his time in North London, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem now.
Towards the back end of last season, Bale opted to sit out a game against Aston Villa because he felt his body couldn’t cope with starting a second game in less than a week – that baffled ex-Premier League striker, Michael Owen, at the time.
And fast forward to yesterday and he has just played three games in one week for his country at Euro 2020 – and Spurs fans are rightly seething.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
