Ancelotti's successor, Rafa Benitez, has been sacked with official announcement expected later.

update: Zinedine Zidane will step us as Madrid interim coach with Santi Solari as his No.2.

A press conference has been announced for 17:30 CET

source

I never used the word offensive. However, an unsolicited photo of someone, especially one that is used for mocking, is definitely disrespectful whether you like it or not. Anyone with common human decency would know this, especially in this digital age of the 21st century where it has become quite a problem.

^that's Benitez. disrespectful = offensive.

and by the way that is your interpretation and opinion. mine is different for example.
anyone with some sense of humour would just chuckle thinking about the fact that Benitez started his mandate at RM with a forced diet.

if Benitez himself didn't care to eat a sandwich on the bench during a match (public event) then i don't think that posting this image can be labeled as "disrespectful" either.

now, do we want to go on talking about this innocuous picture, or perhaps do we want to talk about his sacking? :)

He should have never gone to Madrid when the fans are so demanding. I feel sorry for the guy the treatment he gets makes me angry as a human person.

RM is clearly risking as Barcelona did with Pep. My best of luck to Zizou and I hope Benitez finds a club where the fans respect him.

now, do we want to go on talking about this innocuous picture, or perhaps do we want to talk about his sacking?

I don't know, you're the one who posted the picture.

Just think about it, what if someone took an unauthorized picture of you and posted it online with the intention of mocking it? But even if the intention was to praise it, it's still wrong.

Woah, I knew we should have seen it coming, but I can't help and feel its pretty brutal. Its good to know Zidane will be the one the one taking care of thing for now but they're going to need to find another manager ASAP (Zidane propably too inexperienced for the main team).

@Gustavo Just let it go mate I can see you respect Benitez and his work but I don't think shpalman wanted to offend anyone.

@shpalman You can post a different picture and we can end the argument and start a decent discussion, you edit most comments or delete offensive posts. Replacing 1 picture can't be such a big deal.

@JozeMourinho +1

Yeah, despite its quite funny and relevant, but that pic might lead to unexpected discussion, can you just change that.

I feel sad for Benitez, he has been given so less support to make the best out of him... Especially from the fans. :(. This is the 2nd time it has happened to him...

Anyway, Real's changing room seems to have as much problem as Chelsea's... Too much ego

Really? Offended by a picture? Jesus... What about the countless amount of memes and photos on news sites? It's really sad you got upset over a picture of Benitez eating. It's not offensive or anything.

If you want to talk about offensive, then talk about the fans who abuse players and managers week in week out.

Back on topic, it was gonna happen sooner or later. Benitez was never good enough nor respected enough to lead a team with the expectations of Real Madrid. The ideal coach was Carlo. But Zidane will have the support of the players and the fans because of his history. I just haven't seen or heard of his abilities as a manager.

@raimondo90 Have to agree with you, a lot of people support Zidane as a manager because of his background but being an awesome player and being a awesome manager are two different thing. I wish him the best as interim coach for Madrid, but I cannot help but think they gonna need someone with a lot more experience under his belt (is it how you say it?).

Look guys, I know you don't think it's that big a deal and you're kind of right, but nowadays it kinda of is. We can't have this double standard just because someone is famous. Again imagine if someone took a picture of you when you weren't looking and posted it online without your permission with the intention of mocking it? If it's not okay to do it to you then why is it okay to do it to someone else? It's really not the kind of attitude you'd expect from a moderator.

With that very same logic, how are we allowed to watch live games? Wouldn't it be illegal to even record the players doing something embarrassing like say diving or acting and stuff like that? I understand the right of privacy but when you are in a public area or a gathering, such as a sporting event, people can take photos of anyone and use them for any purposes. When the person is hurt in some real way such as economic reputation or leads to physical damage then sure that should be ended. But we have the right to criticize public figures. Banning photos or stuff like that seems alot like the dictator in Egypt having a man arrested for making a picture of the dictator with Mickey mouse ears..

Guys, I thought we were talking about Benitez and Real Madrid? Not a pic of him eating a sandwich, I mean, I hadn't even saw the picture before all of you guy started talking about it. On another note, what do you guys think will happen to Benitez, where will he go now? I don't know why, but I think he could go to the Serie A.

He never got a chance anyway, he got not backing and no charisma, it was sure that he wouldn't handle the pressure after the Classico result. Hope people will be more patient with ZIdane he doesnt deserve to be thrown as an old sock.

Sacking Ancelotti in the first place was so fucking stupid. Everyone knew that Benitez wouldn't last long in RM. Even though he cried on the day he signed as manager for RM, he had fans and even some players against him from the start. If i recall correctly, RM has the most goals, the most completed passes and a few other records in la Liga this season.. Sure, some problems in the back, but overall they've been solid.. A bit uncalled for letting him go already? Must be internal conflicts..

On another note, now when they've appointed Zidane as interim manager, let's see how long they take before they bid on Hazard..

On a third note, mods easily get offended for the smallest things others write.. but when people get offended for things they post, then it's all fine i guess.. All though I definitively think some banter makes this place funnier.

I think everyone saw that coming he won't last long. Right decision to sack to sack him but, he should never been appointed at all.

Back on topic I am posting some of Zizou's statistics as RM Castilla manager, if I am in anything wrong you can always bother to correct me.

In a total of 42 games he managed to win 18 games, draw 12 and lose 12.
He used 42 players on his squad and his success rate as a manager is 42,9% wins 28,6% draws and 28,6 loses.

Zizou seems promising but is he ready for such challenge? Nobody knows.

I dont know if he is ready yet, at least players will respect his opinion and authority. I think its a little early for him but then i thought the same when Pep and Enrique were applied...

about the photo, i wish you would get so upset also when you see people on here insulting each other ruining nice threads... but strangely, that's OK. again, i made it clear that the pic was not posted with the intention to mock Benitez, it is not an unauthorized pic because he's a public person ad he did that during a match, which is a public event. he started his adventure at RM in an unusual way, and it ended in an unusual way. but i guess the misunderstanding here is just related to cultural differences, high/low context cultural styles. also, Gustavo, the fact that you say the thingy is wrong no matter the context, that is your opinion and your opinion doesn't equal to universal truth. it is very important that you understand that.

about Benitez, i think his sacking is almost as disrespectful as Ancelotti's one. actually not only the sacking itself, but his appointment too. as i already said, his appointment was a very weird choice to start with. who knows him, the way he works, immediately knew he wouldn't be the right man for the job, because being manager at RM is not just about results and stats, it's also about man management, style, charisma and many other things. when Benitez was appointed as RM coach, i just saw a sacrificial lamb going to slaughter. that's the picture i had in my mind and i really felt for him.
his only fault was to believe he had what it takes to guide the Merengues, because let's not forget it, the man has quite an ego and he's very confident in his methods, or at least that's what he tries to show in public. thing is that he was a very modest manager at Napoli already, accepting the RM job was biting more than he could chew.
this is my opinion at least.

what about Zizou? he should be careful as RM don't care to burn another man's career, even if this man is one of the finest legends in the game. they're a business machine after all, and they showed that plenty of times. i do get Tiki's reference to Pep, but RM is a different beast. i wish all the best to him nonetheless.

I think Madrid went into panic mode like @tiki have said after that classico match . They probably thought that is it we got the wrong man and we have strong Barcelona back winning at their ground like 4 years ago .

Another thing that played the role was that embarrassment in Copa Del Rey which i thought was not Benitez fault at all ! Aslo , I think leaving out big names like James ( who fans love ) , Kroos and Isco was a big mistake .

I feel bad for Benitez . It has been very unfair treatment towards him and I hope he finds the club quickly so i can go back hating on him )) .

Zidane will be risk and not just for Madrid but for his career start . Hopefully he does well !

Here are some stats for those above :