Beckham peeved by comments on family
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-15 09:57 David Beckham is disappointed that an article
in Germany's top-selling newspaper mocked his wife, mother, sister and children.
England's David
Beckham gestures to hundreds of soccer fans from a window of the team
hotel in Nuremberg, June 14, 2006. England plays Trinidad and Tobago in
their first round World Cup 2006 match on Thursday.
[Reuters] | Monday's article was spread across
almost the entire back page of Bild and described how Beckham's family looked
while watching England's 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday.
"That's one thing that is hard to accept," Beckham said on Tuesday in
Buehlertal, Germany. "I've come to terms with people criticizing me as a
footballer, but when it comes to my family that's one thing I will never accept.
"I actually find it sad that someone drops to that level to criticize my
family. It's just one sad person sat in a room thinking of one thing that maybe
can try to put me off the next game. I'm not going to let it do that."
The article said Beckham's wife Victoria, a former singer with the Spice
Girls, was a "luxury wife," described two of three of Beckham's sons as dwarves,
and called one, Romeo, a girl. It also described Beckham's mother as having "a
farmer's smile" and his sister Joanne as "Chubbyham."
"Oops is she plump," the paper wrote. "Arms, breasts, bum - very British.
Joanne is one of those who drinks sangrias on a Mallorca beach out of buckets.
And after that the first to dance on the table - topless."
Beckham said he found it disappointing because he'd always had a good
relationship with the German public.
"It's one of my biggest markets outside of football and it's also the home of
(sponsor) Adidas," Beckham said. "It's just one person. I'm not going to let it
put me off one of the biggest football competitions."
Beckham said he was used to being mocked after the vitriol he received after
getting sent off against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. England lost that
match on penalties.
"My family are used to it for the last 10 years," he said. "When something
has happened on the pitch it's my family that has been affected going back to
1998. My parents had vans and 20 photographers outside their house for three
weeks after the event. I try to put up with it but when it gets to my nan and
granddad, my parents, my sister, it's hard for them."
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