• Europa League

AVB happy with Bale dive booking

ESPN staff
March 8, 2013

Andre Villas-Boas has caused something of a stir by admitting he would have asked Gareth Bale to get booked in the 3-0 win over Inter Milan in the Europa League, had the Wales star not been cautioned for diving.

Spurs took a stranglehold on the last-16 clash thanks to goals from Bale, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen. But much of the post-game talk was about Bale's sixth yellow card for simulation since December 2011.

He was booked by referee Antonio Mateu for a fall in the box under challenge from Walter Gargano. Villas-Boas was happy to talk about it, and happy Bale got the caution as it means he has a clean slate for the quarter-finals - provided Spurs complete the job in Milan.

"Gareth will obviously be a great miss," Villas-Boas said. "But had we known we'd get this result we would have asked him to get the yellow card to be clean and to be ready for the last eight.

"It's not finished but we are in a good position.

"Gareth has been influential in consecutive games but hopefully we can make it without him and go through to the last eight."

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