Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger is facing criticism following a forceful challenge on Diego Rico of Getafe. The German international is now responding to accusations of intentional foul play.
This isn’t the first time Antonio Rüdiger’s aggressive play has drawn scrutiny. Throughout his career, the defender has frequently been in the headlines for combative tackles and moments of on-field intensity.
Following a particularly hard foul during a La Liga match against Getafe, Rüdiger found himself confronting accusations from opponent Diego Rico, who claimed the Real Madrid player intentionally fouled him with malice.
Rüdiger vehemently denied the claims. “If you look at the pictures in slow motion, of course it looks bad. I don’t want to downplay that,” Rüdiger said during a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 return leg against Manchester City (9:00 PM/DAZN), launching a verbal counterattack.
“The way he spoke after the game, you’d think I killed him,” said the 33-year-old, whose Real Madrid side holds a 3-0 advantage heading into the second leg and is poised for a quarterfinal berth in the Champions League.
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During the March 2nd match against Getafe in the Spanish league, Rüdiger caught Rico in the face with his knee while the Getafe player was on the ground. The challenge went unpunished by the referee and was not reviewed by VAR. “I like to play hard. But I also have limits,” the defender stated, insisting it was never his intention to foul the Spanish player deliberately.
Rico’s Accusation Against Rüdiger
After the match, Diego Rico accused Rüdiger of brutality: “No other professional would go at a player lying on the ground with such malice and hit him so brutally in the face with his knee when the ball wasn’t even in that area.”
Prior to the controversial incident, Rico claimed Rüdiger had already directed comments toward him: “Then, in the very next play, the ball came to me, and you could see him practically clear out his teammate to smash my face in,” Rico said. The left-back received treatment but was able to finish the game.
Rüdiger maintained he did not intend to harm Diego Rico, adding with a touch of sarcasm: “If I had fouled him intentionally, he wouldn’t have gotten up.”
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