The radio journalist was the first to report the incident TO BEthen beach bar, and then the news was confirmed by virtually all major sports sources. Fede Valverde waited in the parking lot of the Bernabéu Álex Baena after the league match against Villarreal and punched him in the face. No further fisticuffs ensued and only a small commotion resulted.
The media reports that the Villarreal midfielder has spoken aggressively about Valverde’s child on the pitch for the second consecutive match. He waited for his rival in the parking lot and told him to repeat those words, then hit him. Real Madrid confirms the incident but adds that his player intervened after insulting his family.
Fede Valverde’s surroundings in a commentary for the daily BRAND relates: “In January’s King’s Cup game, Baen kicked Fede and told him, ‘Cry now or your son will not be born.’ The topic didn’t progress then, but today Baena said another thing and Fede got hot. He waited for him and told the family that he was not offended. Fede never has problems with anyone, but this is serious stuff and there’s a story behind it.”
In Saturday’s game, Valverde clashed verbally with Baena after their first physical clash, and then another verbal attack from the Villarreal player was bound to follow. Mario Cortegan z The Athletic reports that Valverde tried to hit Baena already in the match, but failed and told him on the pitch that he would wait for him in the parking lot.
Recall that in the winter, Valverde’s wife fought to keep her pregnancy. In February, Mina Bonino announced that she had finally overcome the complications and was now expecting her second child with Fede.
BRAND reports that Villarreal claim to have video of the incident and Baena is considering reporting the Real midfielder to the police. For now, there is no information whether Valverde may also face sporting consequences. There is no mention of this event in the referee’s record. Villarreal initially intends to report the matter to the Federation.
Villarreal team manager Xisco Nadal tweeted: “Fede Valverde hooligan and coward.”
UPDATE 1:27 The field clash took place in the 67th minute of Saturday’s match. Fede countered in his half and Baena started to hold him and attack. He finally knocked the Uruguayan down to the pitch, then made an additional, objectively unnecessary, push gesture. Fede immediately got up and faced the Spaniard, but the Spaniard left and nothing more happened there.
UPDATE 1:31 The Villarreal manager deleted the post from Twitter. In turn, Rubén Cañizares from ABC says that Villarreal as a club will not file any complaints against Fede and the issue of reporting to the police or the Federation remains with Baena.
UPDATE 1:42 The incident took place in front of the stadium camera, reports Relevo. The media agree that although Villarreal do not plan to report Valverde at the moment, police officers were present in the parking lot and took notes of the incident.
UPDATE 1:53 The country reports that Villarreal stresses that they do not have their video, but the scene is covered by the stadium cameras. The police took a note of the incident at Baena’s request, but it’s not a formal complaint yet. After Baen’s attack, he was supposed to ask security for help. Several Real Madrid players also witnessed the event.
UPDATE 1:55 Relief reports that Baena denies that he attacked Valverde’s child and that the words about crying were only about Valverde’s reaction to fouls.
UPDATE 2:23 Baena posted on Instagram with a match photo: “I’m very happy for an impressive victory in a stadium like the Santiago Bernabéu, but at the same time I’m very sad for the aggression I suffered after the game and surprised at what is said about me. IT IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG THAT I SAID THAT THAT.”
