Real Madrid coach Mariano Garcia Remon has given his backing to midfielder David Beckham, but told his England colleague Michael Owen that he will have to be patient to earn a place in the starting line-up.
Beckham caused a furore by admitting he deliberately got himself booked in a World Cup qualifier against Wales in order to serve a one-match suspension against Azerbaijan after he realised he would be sidelined with fractured ribs.
"He's a great player and everything he does is for the good of the club or for the good of his national side," Garcia Remon told a news conference in Madrid on Friday.
"So let's not be hypocritical and say the issue should be taken to UEFA or FIFA just because it's Beckham. Let's leave him in peace -- he's got enough on his plate to worry about with two broken ribs."
But club captain Raul refrained from defending his Real Madrid team mate.
"He's given his version and I'm not going to judge it," he said. "I hardly ever get booked so I have never thought about the situation he found himself in."
Garcia Remon also had a message for Owen, who scored the winner in his side's 1-0 win in Azerbaijan on Wednesday but has yet to open his account for Real.
"I think him scoring for England was very good news," he said. "He needed to get a goal."
But he added that the former Liverpool striker would need to wait his turn before earning a regular place at his new club.
"He's a player we consider to be extremely important to the future of Real Madrid, but sometimes you have to prepare for the future little by little," he said.
"At the moment the coach, who happens to be me, has placed his trust in two players ahead of him and they are Ronaldo and Raul and he has to understand that. But everything he does for England is good for him and for Real Madrid."
Real, who are floundering in 10th place in the Spanish Primera Liga after losing three of their first six matches, play Real Betis on Saturday.
