'Rudiger kicked me in head on purpose'
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 03.03.26. | 21:26
Getafe player is stunned that the Real defender didn't get a red card
On Monday night, Getafe made a surprise win in Madrid against Real as their anti-football tactics finally worked, mainly due to a fantastic volley by Satriano and goalkeeper Soria’s great saves. But the biggest news of the night was the stunning decision of the referee and his colleagues in the VAR room not to give Antonio Rudiger a red card for his savage challenge on Diego Rico. The German international kicked him in the head with his knee but not even a free kick was awarded. Considering that Real is the club which complains the most about referees and their ‘injustice’, this was a really big news in Spain on Tuesday. Rico himself is certain that Rudiger did it on purpose.
"If he had caught me at a bad time, he could have just left me there. He's going to smash my face in. If it were the other way around, I would have received the same 10-match ban and wouldn't have played all season. I don't know what VAR is for because it should be there for these situations," he stated in an interview on Deportes COPE.
There were numerous tackles on Getafe players which were a bit too aggressive during the game and Rico thinks that one of those happened just before Rudiger’s horror tackle.
"It's perfectly clear that he was going to hit me on purpose because in the previous play we had a scuffle that resulted in a foul, and on his way back to the defense he was saying things, and in the next play the ball came to me and you can see how he almost pushed a teammate aside to smash my face in. If he had caught me in a bad position, he could have just left me there on the grass" he said.
In recent months, Rudiger was on the front pages mainly due to wrong reasons: injuries or incidents. In April 2025, he made a rough tackle on Bellingham at the training ground which led to verbal insults from the English star. Although things were eventually smoothed over and the two players reconciled, it’s safe to say coach at the time Carlo Ancelotti wasn’t thrilled with the situation. Just one month earlier, he shocked the world after the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 when he made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb and rolled his eyes like a dying man in front of the Atletico Madrid fan section. For this disgusting act, he was fined only 40,000 euros and received only a one-match conditional suspension.
COPA DEL REY - SEMIFINALS (RETURN LEG)
Tuesday
23.00: (1.50) Barcelona (5.35) Atl.Madrid (5.60)
Wednesday
23.00: (2.15) Sociedad (3.35) Ath.Bilbao (3.45)
***odds are subject to change***