Antonio Rudiger has come under fire for what some are calling ‘one of the most brutal fouls ever seen’ after the Real Madrid defender avoided a red card during their unexpected 1-0 loss to Getafe.
A breathtaking first-half volley by Martin Satriano handed Real Madrid a second consecutive defeat in LaLiga on Monday, following their 2-1 setback against Osasuna last month.
This latest loss leaves Alvaro Arbeloa’s team trailing four points behind league leaders Barcelona, intensifying speculation about the head coach’s job security.
However, much of the post-match discussion has revolved around a contentious foul involving Rudiger.
The incident in question occurred after Diego Rico was brought down by Arda Guler, and Rudiger was caught on camera appearing to lower his knee into the face of the Getafe left-back.
Antonio Rudiger escaped a red card in Real Madrid’s 1-0 home defeat by Getafe on Monday
Footage showed Rudiger’s knee connecting with Diego Rico’s cheek after he was knocked to the ground
Rudiger’s challenge was deemed ‘one of the most brutal fouls we’ve ever seen’ by a Spanish commentator
Footage clearly captured Rudiger’s knee making a forceful impact with Rico’s cheek, prompting the Spanish player to clutch his face in visible pain.
The referee deemed the challenge not to be a foul and waved play on, with VAR also opting against intervening.
While it is unclear whether Rudiger’s act was intentional, Spanish refereeing expert Perez Burrull insisted the defender should have been sent off.
‘This is an action that should have been reviewed by VAR,’ Burrull told Radio Marca.
‘In my opinion, the Real Madrid defender should have been sent off because he hit Rico’s face with his knee.’
Spanish commentator Juanma Castano hit out at Rudiger following the match, accusing the defender of an ‘act of aggression’.
‘One of the most brutal fouls we’ve ever seen,’ Castano said.
‘It’s an act of aggression that could have gone on for several matches.’
Franco Mastantuono was shown a straight red card in second half stoppage time in the defeat, which has increased the pressure on head coach Alvaro Arbeloa
Fans were heard chanting ‘Florentino resign’ in the direction of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez during the match
Rico has since commented on the challenge, declaring that he would have received a lengthy ban had he done the same to Rudiger while accusing the Real Madrid defender of an ‘assault’.
‘If it were the other way around, I would have gotten the same 10-game suspension or wouldn’t have played at all this season. I don’t know what VAR is for. I think it’s for these situations,’ Rico said, as per Mundo Deportivo.
‘It was an assault; you can see he was going to hit me on purpose. In the previous play, we had a scuffle that resulted in a foul, and on his way back to the defence, he was saying things.
‘Right on the next play, the ball came to me, and you can see him even push his teammate aside to smash my face in.
‘If he’d caught me in a bad position, he could have left me lying on the grass.’
Both Real Madrid and Getafe ended the match down to 10-men after two red cards were shown in second half stoppage time.
Franco Mastantuono showed Real Madrid’s frustrations as the Argentine was shown a straight red card for abusive language towards referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz.
Getafe’s Adrian Liso was sent off two minutes later, receiving a second yellow card for time wasting.
Tensions continued to boil over after the final whistle with Vinicius Jr needing to be led away from former West Brom defender Allan Nyom, who appeared to be trying to goad the winger with his post-match celebrations in apparent retaliation for previous comments made by the Brazilian.
Earlier in the season, Vinicius Jr was said to have told Getafe boss Jose Bordalas he had made a ‘very good substitution’ after Nyom had been sent off 38 seconds after coming off the bench against Real Madrid.
Getafe defender Allan Nyom was seen taunting Vinicius Jr following the final whistle
Vinicius Jr was led away from the former West Brom defender, who he had previously mocked earlier in the campaign following a red card 38 seconds after being substituted on
Getafe appeared to reference Vinicius’ comments on social media, sharing photos of Nyom celebrating with the caption ‘We love it when Djené does it, but let’s just say it was a GREAT SWITCH’.
The defeat, Real Madrid’s fourth in 12 games under Arbeloa, has damaged their hopes of regaining the LaLiga title from Barcelona.
Real Madrid fans had been heard booing and chanting against club president Perez, while some were seen leaving before the final whistle.
Arbeloa, who was without injured stars Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, faces a crunch series of matches as Real Madrid bid to keep their season alive.
They first face Celta Vigo on Friday where they will aim to get back to winning ways in the league, before facing Manchester City in their first leg of their blockbuster Champions League last-16 tie.
