James Lawrence reveals infamous ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid’ banner snap with Gareth Bale was ‘spontaneous’

James Lawrence reveals infamous ‘Wales, Golf, Madrid’ banner photo with Gareth Bale was ‘completely spontaneous’ and insists it was meant as a ‘joke’ after hostile reaction from Real fans and Spanish media

  • Gareth Bale celebrated in front of a ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order’ in 2019 
  • The Real Madrid star was enjoying Wales securing qualification to Euro 2020
  • Spanish media slammed Bale for the move, describing him as ‘disrespectful’
  • Wales team-mate James Lawrence claimed it was ‘completely spontaneous’
  • Lawrence told Spanish media and Real fans: ‘you shouldn’t take it too seriously’
  • Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here.

Gareth Bale‘s infamous ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid – In That Order’ banner photo was a ‘completely spontaneous’ move by the then-Real Madrid winger, claims his international team-mate James Lawrence.

The Wales superstar celebrated securing his country’s qualification to the European Championships in November 2019 by dancing in front of the damning banner handed over by fans with his team-mates.

Bale was struggling for minutes in the Spanish capital at the time having been shunned by then-manager Zinedine Zidane, who has just resigned from the role.

Gareth Bale was spotted dancing in front of a ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order’ in 2019

Spanish news outlets slammed the then-Real Madrid winger for the celebrations at the time

Spanish news outlets slammed the then-Real Madrid winger for the celebrations at the time

Spanish media outlets slammed Bale for the move, with Marca hitting back by claiming the winger’s actions were ‘Disrespectful. Wrong. Ungrateful. In that order.’

But Wales defender Lawrence, who was present at the incident, claims the move was not planned and that Bale was just acting on his ‘great sense of humour’.  

The defender told Goal: ‘Someone of us saw the banner in the stands, took it onto the pitch and suddenly we were all behind it.

‘It wasn’t a planned thing, it happened completely spontaneously. We all found the slogan extremely funny, including Gareth.

Bale's (left) Wales team-mate James Lawrence said the incident was 'completely spontaneous'

Bale’s (left) Wales team-mate James Lawrence said the incident was ‘completely spontaneous’

‘Some people in Spain apparently felt differently, but it was a joke. You shouldn’t take it too seriously.

‘Gareth is an extremely laid-back guy with a great sense of humour. He loves to fool around, make jokes and laugh.’ 

The banner referenced Bale’s frequent time spent on the golf course whilst being shunned by Madrid, including one occasion where he was spotted swinging his clubs while the LaLiga giants were playing a fixture. 

The banner referenced the amount of time Bale spent on the golf course while exiled in Madrid

The banner referenced the amount of time Bale spent on the golf course while exiled in Madrid

After that incident in November, Bale played just ten times in the league under Zidane for the rest of the 2019-20 season and was shipped out on loan to former club Tottenham in the following campaign. 

The Wales winger now faces an uncertain future, with the 31-year-old set to head back to parent club Real with one year remaining on his contract.

His agent, Jonathan Barnett, claimed last month that Bale’s future could lie anywhere – but the choice to head back to the Spanish capital and sit on the bench would be ‘fine’. 

Bale has spent the last year on loan Tottenham - but could face a Real return next season

Bale has spent the last year on loan Tottenham – but could face a Real return next season

Barnett said: ‘It’s a three-party discussion; it’s us, Real Madrid and Tottenham. We have our views and we will let them know at the right time.’

Asked if there was any chance of a Bernabeu return, Barnett added: ‘I very much doubt that, but if they want to put him on the bench then that’s fine.

‘They want to put me on the bench with that salary? That’s fine for me as well.’