It’s no secret that Antonio Rüdiger is no stranger to controversy and sometimes goes too far on the pitch. But now he is being accused of “intentional assault” by an opponent.
On Monday, Real Madrid suffered a surprise 0-1 defeat to Getafe at home in the Bernabeu and are now four points behind leaders FC Barcelona. However, one scene is still causing heated debate. In the 26th minute, Arda Güler and Diego Rico were involved in a tackle, during which the Getafe player had already fallen.
Antonio Rüdiger, who had no chance of getting the ball, rushed in, fell and hit Diego Rico in the face with his knee. The German’s tackle was undoubtedly reckless, but was not penalized by referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz.
This alone is being criticized in Spain, with former referee Alfonso Perez Burrull lamenting the failure of VAR on Radio Marca: “This is an action that should have been reviewed by VAR because, in my opinion, Rüdiger should have been sent off.” Diego Rico considered this a bonus for Real, saying on Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that he would have been “suspended for ten games” if he had committed a similar foul.
Diego Rico makes serious accusations
The left-back, who also had to receive treatment after Rüdiger’s action, is not willing to let the matter rest and accused Rüdiger of acting intentionally. The Real defender tried to “smash my face in,” said the 33-year-old, emphasizing: “I think in situations like this, with this kind of aggressive behavior, it’s obvious that he’s attacking me intentionally.”
Diego Rico also revealed that he had had a verbal exchange with Rüdiger immediately before the incident. Rüdiger had been talking to him. “Then, in the very next move, the ball came to me, and you could see how he practically pushed his teammate out of the way to smash my face in.”
At least the left-back got off lightly and was able to finish the game. But Diego Rico also knows that things could have turned out very differently and that he was very lucky. “If he had caught me wrong, I would have just stayed there, flat on the field.”