Aragones insists the comment was aimed at psyching up Reyes

Madrid: Spain coach Luis Aragones landed himself in trouble on Wednesday after appearing to make a racist comment about French striker Thierry Henry during a training session.

But he received the support of much of Spain?s media on Thursday, with sports daily As the only newspaper to criticise the national team coach for the ?obscene? language he used in reference to Thierry Henry.

Aragones landed himself in trouble when microphones picked up the coach trying to convince striker Jose Antonio Reyes he was a better player than ?that black shit?, apparently referring to Reyes? Arsenal colleague Henry.

?Some players have to see things more clearly. Tell that black shit that you are better than him. Tell him from me. You?re the best,? he told Reyes.

Aragones, who is preparing his team for Saturday?s World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Santander, later played down the incident. He said it had been a joke aimed at psyching up Reyes.

Reyes also said Aragones? comments were made in jest.

?He was just having a bit of a laugh and it was nothing important,? the Arsenal forward told a news conference after the session.

?It was a moment?s relaxation during a hard day of training. These are things that should be left on the training ground. Luis and myself know who we were talking about and there was nothing more to it.?

Later, in an interview to Radio Marca, Aragones insisted the comments were in no way racist. The 66-year-old did not deny that his comments were made in reference to Henry.

?I am a citizen of the world,? Aragones told the station. ?Some of my best friends are black, including those I had from childhood. The fact that I made a joke in order to motivate a player has nothing to do with being racist. I?m not a racist.?

That was accepted by all Spanish newspapers on Thursday but As was nevertheless strident in its criticism of the coach.

?Luis used inappropriate words, more inappropriate still when he was in front of millions of eyes and ears hidden behind the television cameras,? the editor of the paper wrote.

?I?m aware that Luis is not a racist...but you cannot speak as he spoke. I?m sure he chose his words without any wish to offend... but his obscene, outdated language gives him, and us, a problem.?

Other newspapers came directly to the coach?s defence. ?It goes without saying that Aragones? intention was not to bring racist overtones to the matter,? Spain?s best-selling newspaper Marca wrote. ?The coach expressed himself in his own way, with vehemence, to get the message through loud and clear to Reyes.? (REUTERS)