Riera plays down Benitez row

(GSM) – Liverpool winger Albert Riera has attempted to play down comments made in the Spanish media in which he heavily criticised his manager Rafael Benitez.

Riera has been banned from until Monday after claiming in a radio interview that Liverpool was ‘a sinking ship.’ The Spain international also claimed that Benitez has no dialogue with his players.

The Spanish manager was believed to be angered by the timing of the interview, which was broadcast on the eve of last night’s Europa League tie with Lille, which Liverpool won 3-0 for a 3-1 aggregate victory.

In his latest interview, Riera claimed he does not want to fall out with his manager, but nevertheless reiterated his belief that Benitez has “something personal” against him.

“I do not want to make trouble with the manager,” Riera told Spain’s Cadena Ser radio station. “I am not interested in making Rafa my enemy in the slightest, quite the opposite, but ultimately it is about playing, and if I am not, we have to talk about why not.

“We have not had any talk about why it is. I played all of last year, and sometimes if I did not play so well in one game, I would still play the next week. But this season I have not played at all.

“When that starts happening, you have to assume it is something personal, rather than professional. I believe in these situations it is better to talk about it and try to fix it, or at least make sure everyone knows where they stand.”

He added: “I am delighted to play for Liverpool and if I was playing I would love to stay, because it is a brilliant place to play football. But if I am not playing I have no chance of going to the World Cup, so I am trying to solve the problem so I at least have a small chance.”

A fine is the very least Riera can expect, although Benitez remained guarded about the controversy after last night’s win. “The timing was not the best for the team and we will deal with this internally,” was all he would say on the matter.