Rudiger apologises for throwing object at referee in Copa del Rey final

New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who could face a lengthy ban after appearing to throw an object towards the referee in a fit of anger during the Copa del Rey final on Sunday, apologised for his behaviour.

In the final stages of Real's 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, Rudiger and his Real teammates reacted angrily to a foul given against Kylian Mbappe shortly before the final whistle. Rudiger was so angry at the decision, and he appeared to throw an object towards the referee De Burgos Bengoetxea.

The defender was then shown a red card, as were Vazquez and Bellingham, after the trio attempted to protest. Having been sent off, Rudiger was restrained by his teammates and was prevented from reaching the match official.

"There's definitely no excuse for my behaviour last night. I'm very sorry for that. We played a very good game from the 2nd half on - After 111 minutes I was not able to help my team anymore and before the final whistle I did a mistake. Sorry again to the referee and to everyone I have disappointed last night," Rudiger posted on X.

In his official post-match report to the Spanish Football Federation, as per the Metro, Bengoetxea confirmed Rudiger had thrown ‘an object which missed me’, while Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle for an ‘aggressive attitude’ towards the officials.

The report read: "In the 120th minute, player (22) Rudiger, Antonio, was sent off for the following reason: For throwing an object from the technical area, which missed me. After being shown the red card, he had to be restrained by several members of the coaching staff, displaying an aggressive attitude.

"In the 120th minute, player (17) Vazquez Iglesias, Lucas, was sent off for the following reason: For protesting one of our decisions, entering the field of play for several meters, making gestures of disagreement.

"In the 999th minute, player (5) Bellingham, Jude Victor William, was sent off for the following reason: After the end of the match, he approached our position in an aggressive attitude, having to be restrained by his teammates."

However, during the press conference, when asked about why Rudiger was substituted, Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti cited exhaustion as a reason behind the defender's substitution.

"He had a fantastic game and held on as long as he could. I appreciated his effort and it was fantastic. He wasn't injured, he was just tired and couldn't run any more," Ancelotti said.

--IANS

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