According to various reports in Spain, Real Madrid are set to fine Sami Khedira and James Rodriguez for attending Cristiano Ronaldo’s 30th birthday party on Saturday night.
Madrid officials are not happy that some players and staff chose to attend the birthday bash following Real Madrid’s 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon earlier that day. But they are unable to punish those who attended the event because technically no rules were broken.
But James and Khedira will not be so lucky. Both players will be fined by Real Madrid for attending the event while nursing injuries.
According to club regulations, injured players are required to comply with a mandatory 72 hours of rest following the diagnosis or treatment of an injury. Since James had been operated on less than 48 hours before the birthday bash, and Khedira had left the Madrid derby early after injuring his thigh; both players are subject to a fine.
James has been ruled out for two months with a broken foot, while Khedira is set to miss the next three weeks due to an injured thigh muscle.
Luka Modric was also in attendance at the party, but the Croatian tweeted an apology to fans and expressed his remorse to rest of the team, as well as the club’s president. The midfielder has been sidelined since November and would not be subject to a fine for attending the birthday bash.
Directors at the club are not happy that the birthday bash went on as planned after Real Madrid were thumped by their city rivals earlier in the day. It was reported yesterday that team captain Iker Casillas and vice-captain Sergio Ramos were against the party and asked Ronaldo to postpone or cancel the event.
It is also understood that club president Florentino Perez attended Monday’s training session at Valdebebas where he voiced his displeasure to the team and manager Carlo Ancelotti.
It will be interesting to see how Ancelotti addresses this latest adversity when he takes to the podium for his pre-match press conference later this week.
Programming note: Real Madrid vs. Deportivo La Coruna will be shown LIVE on Saturday starting at 11:55am EST on beIN SPORTS and DishWorld.
