Gareth Bale of Wales has been banned from playing golf at Wales’ World Cup camp. Wales’ head coach Rob Page has given a summary order to all the players called up for the 2022 World Cup including Bale.
Rob Page says no player will be allowed to tee off at their base in Qatar, insisting he wants his squad focused on the task at hand.
Playing a round of golf is usually Gareth Bale’s favorite way to wind down after a game of football – but he’ll have to find another hobby at this year’s World Cup after Rob Page clamped down on the sport.
Wales will be preparing to play their first World Cup in 64 years after seeing off Ukraine in the play-off final.
The former Tottenham and Real Madrid forward who now plays for MLS outfit Los Angeles FC – is known for his love of golf and is regularly seen teeing off and practicing his swing.
His passion has sometimes got him into trouble with his former club, Real Madrid, as the two sports are strange bedfellows.
Coach Page is doing away with it all to ensure his squad are not distracted when they jet in to Qatar to start their quest to make it past a tricky group stage against England, Iran and the United States – saying their ‘relentless’ schedule won’t allow them much down time.
“Yeah. There’s no golf. We’re out there to do a job,” the coach told the media.
“In the past I may get Gareth, Kieffer Moore or Aaron Ramsey come up to me and say, ‘What’s the plan for tomorrow afternoon? Are there meetings?’
“I’d say, ‘No, there’s no meetings, so if you want nine holes then go and play’.
“But that is when you have a week building up to a double-header. Out there, we won’t have enough time. Every four days there is a game. It’s relentless.”
Bale’s love of golf saw him have a run-in with the Spanish media after infamously holding up a banner that read ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order’ after his country booked their spot at Euro 2020 in 2019, and it did not go down well with his club, Real Madrid.
Spanish journalists often felt Bale prioritised golf over his club duties – as he joked in his sign – and it became a huge source of tension that contributed to his exit from Madrid.
The recent struggles of Gareth Bales of Wales
Gareth Bale was incredibly brandished as a ‘parasite’ in has last days at Real Madrid. The Spanish media claimed Bale had been ‘sucking the club’s resources’ following just four starts in LaLiga all season amid his battles with injury and form.
While injured during his time in Spain, Bale had been seen at a handful of golf events across the country – and there will be plenty of golf courses to choose from in Los Angeles and in Qatar.
Back home, Bale has recently opened a golf bar in Cardiff and Bristol and plans to roll it out across Britain and in Dubai. But he is not permitted to visit a golf course as long as Wales are still involve in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
