Iker Casillas: Athletic Bilbao Deserved Red Cards
Iker Casillas, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, has maintained that Athletic Bilbao's Francisco Yeste deserved to be sent off for pushing him during the visitors' 5-2 win in the Basque Country on Saturday.
The match erupted when Yeste was given his marching orders for pushing Casillas immediately after Bilbao's first goal, and the victim believed that it was the correct decision.
"Yeste pushed me very hard and suddenly," the Spain captain told the press.
"He did not hit me in the face, but it was a red card. I had put the ball out previously when one of their players was down, but they did not do it for [Wesley] Sneijder."
"I know I approached him, but without malice, and he shamelessly pushed me. It changed the game."
Casillas then responded to Joaquin Caparros' accusation of diving, stating, "Joaquin is a magnificent coach and he knows that I have never dived in my career."
He then went on to analyze the rest of the game, saying, "It was a difficult match, but we won at a hostile ground. They played hard, but were beaten by a side with more quality."
The keeper then praised Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for his brace, before adding, "After the [Champions League] match against Liverpool, this win has boosted our morale."
Two seasons ago, Real Madrid bounced back strongly from a loss to Bayern Munich to win the league, and when asked about the possibility of a repeat, Casillas simply stated, "It is tough for a situation like that to be repeated, but we are not going to give up."