wintime999s Marca and Diario AS, two major Madrid media outlets, disagreed with Real Madrid’s boycott of the Ballon d’Or ceremony, which later sparked ( wintime999 ) controversy. wintime999s

Several Spanish media outlets reported on Tuesday in a similar vein that Real Madrid had made themselves look bad by boycotting France Football’s Ballon d’Or ceremony in frustration over Vinicius Junior’s omission. Even loyalist Marca admitted that Los Blancos’ actions were bad for football.  ( wintime999s )

European champions Real Madrid announced their decision to skip Monday night’s awards ceremony in Paris just hours before it started after learning that their Brazilian forward Vinicius had missed out on the Ballon d’Or award, but Spanish media criticised the decision as a lack of respect for their opponents. 

‘This kind of antics is not worthy of the biggest club in the world,’ Marca, which is usually a staunch supporter of Los Blancos, said in an editorial, adding that the club had ignored its own motto that calls for players to ‘shake hands even in defeat’.

It was a big night for Spanish football after Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez won the Ballon d’Or, while Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati was named Women’s Player of the Year, Real Madrid won Team of the Year and Carlo Ancelotti was named Coach of the Year. The seats for the Blancos delegation were empty.

While Alfredo Rellano, editor of Diario AS, who was one of the 100 people who voted for the Ballon d’Or, expressed his regret that the award, which went to a Spanish player for the first time since 1960, did not create the excitement he had hoped for, it instead sparked a day of controversy.

Meanwhile, Vincent Garcia, editor-in-chief of France Football, which organised the event, denied that they had any plans to attack Vinicius Junior or Real Madrid, as claimed by Los Blancos.

‘UEFA has been involved in supporting this year’s gala, but France Football is presenting the awards and there is no way that there can be any distortion,’ Garcia said.

Before offering a plausible explanation for Rodrigo Hernandez’s Ballon d’Or win, Rodri said: ‘It was very close.’

‘Of course Vinicius was affected by (team-mates) (Daniel) Carvajal and (Jude) Bellingham being in the top five, which cost him some votes, which could have been good for Rodri.’