Luis de la Fuente refused to be drawn into the controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo's crisis with Portugal. The Spain head coach faced a hypothetical question about what he would have done had he been in charge of the "Brazil of Europe" during the current turmoil.
His response was cautious. De la Fuente stressed that he could not say what decision he would have taken in a situation he knew little about, pointing out that handling such crises first requires knowing what actually happened before passing judgement or taking a position.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of tomorrow's match against the Czech Republic in the third round of the UEFA Nations League, De la Fuente said: "It is clear that I cannot talk about this matter or give an opinion on it, because I do not have sufficient information and data. Speculation and assumptions are not in my nature, and I do not like to pass judgements without knowing the facts."
He went on: "In my opinion, every situation must be dealt with when it actually happens. And as one of my mentors always used to say: every situation has its own particular nature, and must be dealt with according to its nature." The Spain boss made clear he did not want to put himself in another coach's shoes and judge a decision in a crisis whose full circumstances he did not know.
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Pressed on whether he had a view on how to handle the Ronaldo situation, De la Fuente contented himself with saying: "Honestly, I don't know," before setting out his position more decisively: "And as I said, you cannot give an answer without knowing the truth and what actually happened."
"And unfortunately, that is all I can say," he concluded. With that, he shut the door on offering any hypothetical opinion about the crisis between Ronaldo and Portugal, preferring to keep his focus on the Czech Republic test awaiting his side.