Casilla gets apology over claim he "wanted to hit Zidane"
A Spanish TV panellist had claimed Kiko Casilla was involved in a furious exchange with Real Madrid's former boss over his omission at Villarreal.
Kiko Casilla has received a public apology over claims that he was involved in a furious exchange with Zinedine Zidane after the then-Real Madrid coach's decision to pick his son in goal in last month's LaLiga match against Villarreal.
Casilla "wanted to hit Zidane", claimed El Chiringuito panellist
Cristóbal Soria, a regular panellist on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, told the programme on Monday that Casilla had "wanted to hit Zidane" over his team selection at the Estadio de la Cerámica, which saw Luca Zidane handed his Real debut at the expense of a rare start for Los Blancos' second-choice keeper.
Soria also reported that the 31-year-old's omission saw him lose out on a 600,000-euro bonus for reaching an appearances target.
Casilla threatens legal action against Soria
However, Casilla's camp quickly denied the report, releasing a statement branding Soria's claims "utterly false" and threatening legal action if he did not issue a "full and immediate" retraction.
A spokesperson for the player also explained: "Zinedine told him [Casilla] that, since Luca was the only squad member who had not yet played a single minute [in the 2017/18 season], he was going to field him against Villarreal.
"Kiko understood that and had no objections.
"It's [also] not true that Kiko would have earned a bonus of 600,000 euros if he had played in that game. The bonus that he has [in his contract] is a different amount, and he still had quite a few more games to go to trigger it."
Soria clarifies initial report on El Chiringuito
Speaking on El Chiringuito on Tuesday, Soria sought to clarify his earlier report, saying: "He [Casilla] went to Zidane to ask him to explain the decision.
"But the source who initially spoke to me [about Casilla's reaction to being left out] perhaps put it to me in stronger terms than turn out to have been the case.
"I did not intend to disrespect Kiko Casilla."
