Bellerín: Playing in High Temperature and High Humidity Is Inhumane, But It’s Not an Excuse for Poor Performance

In La Liga Matchday 4, Levante drew 2-2 with Real Betis at home. After the game, Real Betis player Héctor Bellerín gave an interview.

On the Team’s First-Half Performance

“While this can’t be used as an excuse, playing in 30°C heat and 80% humidity at this time of September is really inhumane. But we still finished the game because we have responsibilities.

“We were unfocused at the start and made mistakes, and spent the rest of the game making up for those errors… There’s no real point in playing under such temperature and humidity conditions. We also need relevant parties to help us with our work. Everyone gave 100%, and people saw an exciting game.

“But we can’t start the game in this way. We all know where the problems are and have talked about them. I acknowledge the team’s response, but we should have taken all three points from here. We must learn lessons from these mistakes. I saw the belief and control the team showed afterwards—we fully deserved more.”

On His Disallowed Goal

“Such decisions keep happening—fouls are called when we’re attacking, but not when we’re defending. However, referees have a very difficult job, and they try to officiate with fairness and honesty.

“We had chances to take the lead afterwards, so we can’t blame the result on this. We must start the game the way we played after the 30-minute mark.”