Marcelo Bielsa has furiously hit back at questions about his official FIFA World Cup photo and insisted he’s ‘not a model’. The Uruguay manager was filmed seemingly refusing to engage during his pre-World Cup media duties, with the video spreading on social media.
The 70-year-old was captured staring at the ground in his official World Cup photo, and the picture has since gone viral, with fans left bemused by his refusal to look at the camera.
The former Leeds boss, however, was in no mood to explain the picture in his post-match press conference following Uruguay’s opening 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia.
“I don’t have to give any explanation,” said Biesla. “The picture was taken the way it was taken. I’m not a model. I have no answer for that. Should I also explain why I don’t look at those who are speaking now [in the news conference]?
“There are no explanations for me to give.” Bielsa appeared agitated by the question and later, unprompted, hit out at the noise around the picture again.
He added: “I believe there’s a limit in terms of what we need to explain. If I look up or down, there are so many things to be explained?
“Some situations do not need to be explained. We have no obligation to behave as models. Those things have no foundation. I did nothing wrong.”
His comments follow chaotic scenes that saw his Uruguay side’s travel plans thrown into disarray less than 24 hours before their opening match.
View 2 ImagesBielsa refused to make any gesture during his pre-World Cup media duties
Uruguay were due to fly from Cancun to Florida, only for paperwork issues for the aircraft to delay their arrival. Uruguay’s FA pointed the finger at FIFA for the farcical situation, though the organisation blamed an ‘airline permitting error’ in a statement.
Bielsa, who will leave his role after the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, has previously blasted football chiefs over the organisation of major tournaments, most notably ranting about the sport being turned into a money-making machine and the state of security and pitches at the last Copa America.
Despite entering Monday evening’s match as the favourites, Bielsa was forced to settle for a point after Maximiliano Araujo’s 80th-minute strike cancelled out Abdulelah Al-Amri’s first-half opener.
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Uruguay were the dominant side overall, bouncing back from a poor first half to finish the game with 27 shots, and would’ve won it had it not been for some sloppy finishing and a superb display from Mohammed Al-Owais in goal.
A frustrated Bielsa berated his side for starting too slowly, which led to a certain Darwin Nunez being brutally hooked at half-time, and blamed the result on the first half.
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“I think the fact we didn’t win is linked to not being able to get the best version of ourselves,” he said. “That’s why we weren’t able to win. We had everything to play in the first half like we did in the second half, but we only did it in half of the time.
“The game changed during the second half. More options, people were able to move, run off the ball and make situations. It’s part of what happens in games. Sometimes with few chances you score goals and sometimes with many chances you can’t do it.”
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