Marcelo Bielsa admits Tyler Roberts made an error on international duty this week, but seemed to distance Leeds United from any punishment of their own.
Marcelo Bielsa said: “A situation like what happened to Tyler will be solved when he doesn’t commit this error again. He already received a sanction from his national team, which is an important one. I don’t know what the position is of their technical staff, the national team or their federation, who are the people who resolve this matter.”
Bielsa gave no indication Roberts’s place in the Leeds team would be under threat as a result of the protocol breach. The Whites boss said the behavioural mistakes Roberts had made in the past could be put down to his age or lack of experience. An excuse he would not be able to rely on for much longer.
Marcelo Bielsa said: “Any player that doesn’t adhere to the rules, having accepted them, commits an error. Errors always have consequences. Some of them are positive. To not repeat the same mistakes again and others have worse consequences as they sanction you for your mistakes. Tyler’s a player who’s close to abandoning that position of lack of experience for a player which is a way of understanding some of the behavioural mistakes he has made. Surely this will help him to not make mistakes which are not convenient.”
The 22-year-old was removed from the Wales camp earlier this week and sent back to West Yorkshire after breaching squad protocol. Roberts apologised for what he said was breaking curfew, but it seems the matter is considered closed at Thorp Arch. Bielsa was asked twice about the matter during his latest press conference on Thursday and suggested it was for Wales to resolve the matter.
