Antonio Rudiger is facing a significant ban after throwing ice at the referee during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey final defeat to Barcelona on Saturday night.
Jules Kounde’s goal in extra time sealed a 3-2 victory for Barcelona, while tensions boiled over on the Madrid bench in the closing stages of the game as an irate Rudiger attempted to confront referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.
Both Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Junior ran onto the pitch and aggressively threw their arms in the direction of the official before Rudiger followed up and threw an ice cube from the touchline, just metres from where Carlo Ancelotti was stood, towards the centre of the pitch.
De Burgos Bengoetxea came over to the touchline and gave red cards to both Vazquez and Rudiger, who then attempted to storm over to the referee.
Madrid’s coaching staff tried to restrain the former Chelsea centre-back as he then removed a bulky ice pack from his right knee.
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Six people, including two Madrid players Ferland Mendy and Jesus Vallejo, then stepped in to try to calm Rudiger before he was led away from the technical area.
Rudiger appeared to have been escorted back to the dressing room but the defender returned to the fray and attempted to reach the centre of the pitch where De Burgos Bengoetxea was accompanied by his assistant referees.
However, Luis Llopis, Madrid’s goalkeeping coach, and goalkeeper Andrii Lunin, together managed to convince Rudiger to change his mind before he left the field, this time for good.
The former Chelsea defender was not seen again, neither during the Barcelona tribute nor during the opponent’s celebration after winning the trophy.
Metro
