Alaba abused, Croatia coach critical following FIFA awards

• Messi was named the best men's player on Monday after leading Argentina to last year's World Cup title in Qatar
• Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema finished in third place after a standout season helping Madrid to another Champions League title
• The awards were decided by a poll of national team captains and coaches, selected media and fans voting online from candidate lists decided by FIFA-appointed expert panels

Real Madrid defender David Alaba was racially abused on social media after voting for Lionel Messi, and Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic accused FIFA of disrespect on Tuesday in the wake of the football body's annual awards ceremony.

Messi was named the men's player of the year on Monday after leading Argentina to last year's World Cup title in Qatar, with Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema following a superb season to help Madrid to another Champions League title in third place.
The awards were decided by a poll of national team captains and coaches, selected media and fans who voted online from shortlists decided by expert panels appointed by FIFA.

Alaba's vote as captain of the Austrian national team - with Messi in first place, Madrid team-mate Benzema in second and Kylian Mbappé, the eventual runner-up, in third - was among the results released by FIFA after the ceremony in Paris. The choice angered Madrid fans and others as Alaba, who is black, voted for Messi, who spent 17 seasons at Real Madrid's arch-rivals Barcelona.

"The Austrian national team voted for this award as a team, not me alone," Alaba wrote on his social media accounts. "Everyone in the team council can vote and that's how it's decided. "Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances," added Alaba, who joined Madrid last season after more than a decade at Bayern Munich. "I've often said he's the best striker in the world for me, and he still is. Without a doubt."

Dalic said on Tuesday that he refused to vote in protest at a perceived lack of respect for himself and his team, which eliminated Brazil before losing to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals. "I am disappointed with FIFA's attitude towards the Croatian national team because I firmly believe that based on everything we have achieved as a national team, we deserve more respect from world football's main governing body than we have received," the coach said. said in a statement released by the Croatian Football Federation.

Croatia captain Luka Modric, another Real Madrid player, was fourth in the vote. Modric won the FIFA award in 2018 when his team reached the World Cup final, losing to France. Dalic, who finished third in voting for the best coach award in 2018, pointed out on Tuesday that he was left out of the five-man shortlist this time around and that his players were overlooked for other awards, including the all-star team that was voted player.

“There really wasn't a place for Mateo Kovacic on that list, even though he won the FIFA Club World Cup (with Chelsea) and had a great World Cup in Qatar? What is the name of Joško Guardiol? Dalic asked. "And didn't Dominik Livakovic deserve to be one of the five finalists for FIFA Men's Best Goalkeeper after all he did in Qatar?"

Dalic also noted that Morocco coach Walid Regragui was a contender - he finished fourth in the coaching award, which went to Argentina's Lionel Scaloni - despite Croatia beating the team in the World Cup third-place match and drawing their group match in Qatar. "After considering all of the above, I have decided not to participate in the voting process for this year's awards," Dalic said, taking another jab at FIFA. "Both the time slots of our matches at the World Cup and the quality of refereeing - especially in the semi-final match - made me feel that the Croatian team lacked respect."

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.