Getafe left-back Diego Rico has taken to the airwaves to express his fury at what he feels are double standards in the officiating, after Antonio Rudiger escaped punishment for kneeing him in the face. The incident occurred in the first half of Getafe's 1-0 win over Real Madrid on Monday night, and the referee did not punish Rudiger for his challenge.
Both sides ended up seeing red cards in stoppage time of the encounter, with Franco Mastantuono sent off for dissent towards the official, and Adrian Liso saw a second yellow for kicking the ball away moments later. The main talking point afterwards was Rudiger's challenge though, which was not deemed worthy of a card by the referee, or of a red card by VAR.
Speaking the following day to Cadena Cope , the recipient of Rudiger's knee claimed that had it been him who had made the same challenge, he would likely be facing a lengthy suspension.
"If it had been the other way around, I would have gotten 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."
Image via SD / Kiko Huertas.
In his mind, there was little doubt that Rudiger's challenge was deliberate.
"It's obvious he's going to go for me on purpose because 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, 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'd caught me badly, he could have just left me lying there on the grass."
Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa felt that the official had been most permissive with Getafe in his post-match press conference. Meanwhile Getafe counterpart Jose Bordalas declined to make strong statements, but said that it was 'very clear' to all, and midfielder Luis Milla characterised it as a clear act of aggression.
