Spain striker, Alvaro Morata has revealed that the lives of his family members were threatened by fans of Spain’s national team due to his performance at the Euro 2020.
Alvaro Morata who is on loan at Juventus from Atletico Madrid is being criticized by most football fans for the couple of goalscoring opportunities he has missed so far in the tournament.
When Spain were preparing for the Euro 2020 campaign, things got so bad for the striker that fans of the country had to boo him during a friendly game between Spain and Portugal on June 4, 2021, which ended 0-0.
Despite being booed at the friendly game, he continued to be a regular in the Spain set-up and continued to struggle to score goals in the ongoing European Championship.
He missed a couple of chances in Spain’s 0-0 draw with Sweden in the Euro 2020 group stage. Alvaro Morata however redeemed himself by scoring the only goal in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Poland on June 19 after losing a couple of chances.
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β #EurosOnMGL (@JoySportsGH) June 19, 2021
Gerard Moreno’s penalty hit the post, but how did Alvaro Morata miss the rebound?#EurosOnMGL pic.twitter.com/y8CgSUIyfQ
On June 23, 2021, when Spain played against Slovakia in the country’s last group game in Sevilla, Spain, Alvaro Morata’s wife Alice Campello and their three children – Alessandro, Leonardo, and Edoardo decided to go and watch the footballer at the stadium.
The family of the footballer went to the stadium wearing jerseys with the player’s name engraved on the back of the shirts. That attracted the attention of other spectators who reportedly shouted at them.
Unfortunately for the striker, it was in the same match he missed a penalty kick in the 5-0 bashing of Slovakia in which he did’t score a goal.
Yet ANOTHER missed penalty (sixth in 11 attempts) at #EURO2020
β Yahoo Soccer (@FCYahoo) June 23, 2021
This time it’s Spain’s Alvaro Morata π
(via @ESPNFC)pic.twitter.com/sxEHu1TF0s
In an interview with Spanish radio Cadena Cope after Spain narrowly escaped from Group E with 5 points in three games, Alvaro Morata claimed that his family were not only shouted at, he was abused and threatened on social media.
The former Chelsea striker said: “People have been saying ‘I hope your children die’. I’d like people to put themselves in my shoes and think about what it’s like to get threats to my family.
“My wife and children have come to the stadium in Seville with Morata on the back of their shirts and people have been shouting at them.
“It’s complicated. I understand people booing me for missing chances but there’s a limitβ¦
“I’m proud of the fact I picked up the ball [to take the penalty] after people booed me in the warm-up. A few years ago I would have been devastated but I’m really motivated. Whoever thinks the opposite doesn’t know me,” he said.
“It’s hard to find a group like this, especially in the difficult times. After a week like this, I’ve been aware of how everyone looks at me but I look in their eyes and see they are supporting me.”
Alvaro Morata who has scored 20 goals in 43 appearances for Spain since he made his debut on November 15, 2014, is expected to be in action for his country on June 28 when Spain face Croatia in the round of 16 stage of the competition.
After the end of the European Championship, he is expected to return to Juventus where he will spend the 2021-2022 season on loan. He scored 20 goals and provided 12 assists in 44 games for Juventus in the just concluded 2020-2021 season.
