Belgian coach Tedesco ‘shocked’ after goalkeeper Courtois leaves squad amid captaincy row

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian press already calls it “Courtoisgate.”

And new Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco says learning about it was a shock.

Thibaut Courtois’ decision to leave Belgium’s training camp ahead of a European Championship qualifier for not being selected as captain plunged the squad into crisis mode on Monday, only six months after its pitiful exit from the World Cup.

Courtois abruptly left camp and will miss the match in Estonia on Tuesday apparently because he doesn’t feel he’s recognized for his true worth.

“I’m still surprised and shocked of course, because we did not expect that something like this can happen,” Tedesco said in Estonia.

Courtois, who played on Saturday in the 1-1 draw against Austria, was disappointed with Tedesco’s handling of the captaincy.

In the absence of midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who was injured in the Champions League final, Tedesco gave the captaincy to striker Romelu Lukaku, who responded by scoring Belgium’s equalizer.

Courtois — who has 102 matches for Belgium — was frustrated by the decision and did not show up when players regathered for the Estonia game.

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“Everything was OK, and after the match he wanted to speak to me,” Tedesco added. “He told me that he is, of course, offended that he was not the captain and he would leave the camp. And of course, I tried several times to speak to him: ‘Don’t do that, to me, don’t do that to the staff, don’t do that to the team.’ Because it’s a tough one, it’s a hard decision that he took.”

Courtois’ father, Thierry, denied there was a dispute within the squad and told Footnews that his son was allowed to leave because of a knee inflammation following discussions between the medical teams of his Real Madrid club and the Belgian federation.

“They examined his medical imaging and, on this basis, it was decided to rest him,” he said.

Tedesco, who called Courtois “the best goalkeeper in the world,” told journalists, however, that Courtois was not injured.

“For me it would be easy, believe me, I would like to tell you that it is a topic of injury,” Tedesco said. “But then I would lie to you, I would lie to the team and to the staff, and I can’t do this.”

Tedesco announced on Saturday that it would be Courtois’ turn to wear the armband against Estonia. Strasbourg goalkeeper Matz Sels is now expected to replace Courtois in goal.

Courtois made a superb reflex save soon after Lukaku’s goal against Austria and was praised by Tedesco after the game.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate to have him,” he said. “He saved us in that situation, that could be a 1-2, and you lose this game.”

Tedesco, who is unbeaten in three matches at the helm of Belgium after replacing Roberto Martinez this year, also cited Courtois’ performance in a 3-0 win at Sweden in March.

“He is top,” Tedesco said. “For us it’s important that he feels valued.”

Tedesco was tasked with rebuilding when he became the coach. Belgium was ranked No. 1 by FIFA for four years during Martinez’s six-year tenure but never won a major tournament. Several of the “golden generation” of Belgians — Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel, Toby Alderweireld — retired from international duty after the last World Cup and it would be a big loss if Courtois joined them.

Asked whether he would leave the door open for Courtois to return to the national squad after the summer break, Tedesco said, “It’s not the right moment to speak about it.”

Although he has been tinkering with his lineups, Tedesco has been able to field exciting teams in his first three outings.

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