In this round of La Liga, Dembele did not appear on the team’s roster. Although he didn’t play, he was late again in this game.
On Thursday, Dembele missed Barcelona’s training because of gastroenteritis. In fact, he did not ask for a day off or contact the club beforehand, and Barcelona spent 90 minutes to get in touch with him. This makes people very dissatisfied with his professional attitude and discipline.
In this round, Valverde did not put him on the roster. Although at the pre-match conference, the Barcelona coach explained that this is not a punishment for Dembele, in fact, Valverde wants Dembele to realize seriousness of the lack of discipline.
According to Barcelona’s internal regulations, if it is a home game, players who are not in the roster need to arrive at the stadium 15-45 minutes earlier before the game start to watch the team’s game in the stands. However, as the Spanish media said, Dembele arrived at the stadium just 3 minutes before the start of the game. When he came to the stands, the game had been going on for 5 minutes. His teammates Samper and Vermaelen had already sat on the seats. In the second half, Dembele was late again! He returned to his seat a few minutes after the start of the game.
The lack of discipline and professionalism made Dembele criticized by the leaders of Barcelona. Before the start of the game, Barcelona’s public relation minister Amor spoke about Dembele: “All players who play for Barcelona must have the professional attitude. Every player should give their best in every training session must follow the manager’s arrangement and play the position arranged by the manager.”
Dressing room leader Pique also comment on Dembele directly after the game: “We have all been young and have made mistakes. We will help Dembele. Let him know that football is for 24 hours and you must let football integrate into your own life.”