Roberto Martinez was a victim of the Anglo-Spanish translation off 'on the record' going awry

By Guillem Balague

Published 07:00 30/10/09

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This week's controversy over comments falsely attributed to Roberto Martinez are a reminder that journalists and people in football who deal with the media work within an unwritten set of rules when it comes to what is said ‘on record.’

To the outsider, that may sound as if anything ‘off’ record is for the journalists ears only – the problem is, it’s much more complicated than that, and there are differences between how things are done in England and in Spain.

In Britain, things are sometimes said privately by people who are happy for that information to ‘leak’ out. It gets published, but the source isn’t usually named. In Spain, we have so much daily contact with coaches and players that relationships with journalists are much more common and private conversations far more frequent.

The problem is, there is so much chatter, that the boundaries are often confused: more so than in England. Premier League clubs keep a watchful eye on every conversation their staff have with the media, in Spain, phone conversations and ‘off the cuff’ chats frequently make the headlines.

A rule of thumb in Spain is that if you are talking to a journalist, unless he is a close ally, it’s safest to assume it is ‘on record.’ Unfortunately, things in Spain have also reached the stage where even things that people didn’t say are put into quotes by the Spanish press.

People might want to blame Martinez for forgetting that basic rule of thumb when he gave his interview to a Spanish paper, as much of what he said was not for public consumption.

However, he has also been the victim of the more ‘relaxed’ approach the Spanish press sometimes has of transcribing interviews – and unfortunately, things Martinez never even said have been attributed to him. Does anyone really believe, for a moment, that Martinez said Sam Allardyce thinks he is destined to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at United?

We all know why Martinez’ comments were mis-represented and elaborated upon: it is all part of a trend to generate controversy between Rafa Benitez and the United manager.

The idea that the pair of them are at war sells newspapers, and if people can create the illusion that the British and Spanish are taking up opposing sides: even better.

All’s fair in love and war, as Roberto has unwittingly found out after being represented as a Benitez foot soldier.

They say the first casualty of war is innocence, and I’m sure that the next time a journalist eager to put Martinez in the firing line contacts him for ‘ a quick word,’ he’ll be better prepared to dodge that bullet...

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