After Gareth Bale was once again booed by Real Madrid fans on Saturday, manager Zinedine Zidane came to the Wales star's defence.
Bale's already-frosty relationship with Los Blancos' fans plunged to new depths during the international break, when he celebrated Wales' 2020 UEFA European Championship qualifying win over Hungary by holding a flag that controversially insulted the Spanish club.
The former Tottenham Hotspur winger bore the brunt of the fans' anger on Saturday, when he was widely booed by the club's supporters during his substitute cameo in Real's 3-1 LaLiga win over Real Sociedad.
After the match, Zidane, who has endured a cold relationship with Bale himself, came to the defence of the Welshman, and even praised his performance off the bench.
"The fans can do as they please, but let's not focus on the jeers. Bale came on and did very well, he had a good 20 minutes, but let's focus on the win and the three points.
"I congratulated Bale on his performance, as I did all of the players. I haven't spoken to him about the jeers. It's something that has happened to the best players in the past, and today it's Bale's turn.
"He came on and did very well and, at the end of the day, we need our fans to get behind us. That's all there is to say.
"It won't affect things because it's something that's always happened, and it'll happen to many of them.
"What we've got to do is keep working hard and delivering on the pitch, because what the fans want to see is that their team keep on winning.
"I can't say whether it's unfair or not. Everyone's entitled to their opinion and has to make a decision about what they say on it.
"The important thing in this is us and what we need. As I said yesterday, we need our fans, I can't control things, nor can Bale or anybody else. We always need our fans' backing because they give us that boost."
