The fallout from Real Madrid defender Rudiger’s horror challenge on Diego Rico continues
Perhaps the harshest, yet justified, reaction to Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger’s assault on Getafe’s Diego Rico on Monday night is that it wasn’t out of character. This has even prompted calls in his homeland for him to miss the World Cup this summer.
Rüdiger is no stranger to the dark arts on a football pitch and some are growing tired of the reputation he has built for himself. The 33-year-old has 81 caps for Germany, but one of the country’s major outlets has called for him to be kicked off the national team.
German newspaper calls for Rüdiger to be banned from World Cup
“It wasn’t a hard foul, it was almost an assault,” read an opinion column in German newspaper Bild.
“He’s not in control and that’s not someone you can take to a World Cup.
“Too much of the bad stuff. And if you don’t change, you stay home.”
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Rüdiger missed out on the last Germany national team squad with injury and coach Julian Nagelsmann may decide he is content with his other defensive options.
He could also potentially call upon Augsburg centre back Noahkai Banks who is considering switching allegiance from the United States.
Rüdiger has a track record of dirty play
From threatening a fan with a cutthroat gesture to stamping on an opposition player’s testicles, Rüdiger has a long history of incidents that exemplify the kind of dirty stuff that most don’t want to see on the pitch. His reputation precedes him and makes it hard to believe the attack on Diego Rico could possibly have been unintentional.
The obvious conclusion might be that the defender is a liability for his teams, yet despite a penchant for snide fouls and unnecessary contact, such as kneeing Pedri in the back, he has never been sent off for Real Madrid. Indeed, he has only received three red cards in his whole career and the last one came in the 2016/17 season when he was playing for AS Roma.
Rüdiger and Madrid pay the price for his antics
The incident with the Atletico Madrid fan cost him 40,000 euros, however, and he was given a six-match ban last year for throwing an object at the referee during Los Blancos’ Copa del Rey final loss to Barcelona.
