Fans angry that 'sexy journalist' was behind Casillas goal

zocoss SG

Iker Casillas

Spanish Inquisition: Goalkeeper Iker Casillas squares up to girlfriend Sara Carbonero after his side's shock World Cup defeat against Switzerland

After widely being blamed for the haphazard manner of Switzerland's winning goal in Spain's opening World Cup match, goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas faced a further backlash when fans claimed he was distracted by his TV presenter girlfriend who was seen lingering behind the goal during the match.

But if that wasn't bad enough the stopper was then harangued by Sara Carbonero live on television.

The glamorous sports presenter - voted the sexiest journalist in the world - demanded to know exactly what had gone wrong in the shock defeat by Switzerland.

'How did you muck that up?', she asked, leaving Casilllas squirming in embarrassment.

'I don't know what to say,' he said, unable to look her in the eye. 'I don't know if this defeat will have consequences. The dressing room is fed up.'

Casillas then slunk off abashed to console himself after the 1-0 defeat which came when former Manchester City man Gelson Fernandes bundled home early in the second half.

But he wasn't the only one facing questions.

His 25-year-old girlfriend, a reporter for the Telecinco channel, soon found herself the subject of another Spanish inquisition.

But was it her fault? Carbonero (far right in white top) was only metres away from Casillas throughout the match as she reported from the touchline

Casilllas's attempts to stop Gelson Fernandes's goal proved futile

Irate fans claimed her presence on the sidelines - directly behind Casillas - had distracted him. Websites were inundated with comments claiming his mind may have been on 'other things'

Casillas and Carbonero started dating at the Confederations Cup in South Africa last year.

Her presence at this year's World Cup prompted controversy as Spanish WAGs - known as 'esposas y novias' - typically do not travel with the national side.

High profile: Casillas and Carbonero, seen here at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, are tabloid favourites in Spain

Some claimed she could onyl be a distraction to Casillas.

But the brunette, the most high-profile Spanish WAG and a tabloid favourite, was quick to rebuff the criticism.

'Can I destabilise the team? I think it is nonsense,' she said in an interview on Telecinco.

Spain, the joint favourite championship favourite with Brazil, now faces a difficult path in the World Cup.

Only three countries have ever reached the final after losing their opening match.

Poignant SG

bo link leh?

The man who was death SG

i dun even understand why people say casillas made a goalkeeping mistake...derdiyok got there first and dink it past him...yes it was a poor challenge by casillas and should be a penalty if they didn't score, but not neccessarily a bad mistake...

zocoss SG

bo link leh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qONNrT8vnUA&feature=player_embedded

Poignant SG

i dont study spanish in singapore education system

Fallen-Angel SG

Now the blaming game start.

zocoss SG

• Spain 'played without conviction' in defeat to Switzerland
• English referee criticised for 'offside goal'

Great clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADlX8xidkq8

The day after Spain's shock 1-0 defeat by Switzerland the Spanish press contained a mixture of gloom about the team's performance and wounded resentment at the perceived failings of the referee, Howard Webb.

Marca noted sombrely: "Spain can no longer indulge the fantasy of choosing their last-16 opponent. Now it is merely an exercise in survival."

The sports daily's main headline quoted Luis Aragonés: "Spain played without conviction", and the former national manager's criticisms were extensively detailed in all newspapers.

Calling the defeat "a heavy blow", Aragonés said the Spanish team lacked speed in their work off the ball and were slow to find space. "They lacked conviction to go for the victory and I perhaps would have used only one defensive midfielder" instead of the combination of Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets.

Asked if Vicente del Bosque had been slow to make changes when things were not going well, Aragonés replied: "It could be that he made [the substitutions] late but I don't think it was a problem of substitutions but of the mentality of the team, which came out slowly, not with determination and paid for it."

The goalkeeper Iker Casillas reflected the shock of the team. "Nobody expected this result," he said. "The dressing room is sad, dissatisfied and down, but you always have to pick out the positives for the next game."

The centre-back Gerard Piqué hinted that the pre-tournament hype surrounding the squad had not helped. "From now on we can forget about the stupid idea that we are favourites and that we are going to win the World Cup easily," he said.

Elsewhere the press were united in claiming the Swiss winner was offside. This was just one of the complaints laid at the door of the English referee Howard Webb. AS felt he should have sent off Switzerland's Stéphane Grichting for a foul on Andrés Iniesta when he was the last defender.

Awarding Webb three out of 10, Marca said: "He wasn't up to the circumstances. Didn't see the offside for the goal and should have given a penalty on [David] Silva in the second half."

But the commentators declined to use controversy about the referee as an excuse. In El País Ramon Besa accused the team of overelaboration, calling them "excessively baroque". He criticised Busquets and the central defensive pairing of Piqué and Carles Puyol of failing to deal with a simple punt from the keeper for the goal, noting that the three had failed in similar circumstances for their club, Barcelona. The strikers were also lambasted for their failure to take clear chances. In a player by player breakdown of the "surprisingly vulnerable" Spain team, only the substitutes Jesús Navas, who put in 19 crosses in his time on the field, and Pedro Rodríguez escaped censure.

His colleague José Samano said that the team had treated possession as an end in itself but cautioned against "inflaming the old Spanish fatalism, which already seems to have been unearthed". The team should not abandon its principles against Honduras and Chile.

It was left to AS to strike a more positive note. "We can still do it," ran the headline, but elsewhere it was noted that no World Cup winners had ever lost their first match.

mlmersrlosers SG

sore losers?

zocoss SG

The goal was kind of weird... Don't know which Spanish player heads the ball backwards instead of forward, then Puyol tried to used his hand to block the ball from getting through... Towards the end, Pique was like up to his old tricks trying to use his hands to hold the ball... And Casillas also looked like a comic, running up and down...

Great clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADlX8xidkq8

omgukilledkenny SG

Hey they got creative! Finally not blaming the ball/vuvuzelas.

tripsky SG

those whiners are just jealous cos they are not shagging her. or him.

Pitot SG

she is hot but wtf surely she has a better place to film from if she is covering the event.

irritating if my gf is that close when i work.