This article contains adult content that may be inappropriate for minors. Please confirm that you are 18 years or older to continue. This article contains images or details that some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. Diego Rico, left-back for Getafe, expressed his outrage over the harsh tackle by Antonio Rudiger during the match at the Bernabéu. The player is convinced that the action—a double knee tackle—was deliberate and not an accident. "If he had caught me wrong, I could have been left there on the ground. He aimed to break my face," Rico stated in an interview with Deportes COPE, showing his anger at the severity of the incident. The Getafe defender has no doubts about Rudiger's intent, explaining that the incident occurred after a disagreement between the two. "It's clear that he was going to hit me on purpose. In the previous play, we had a clash that the referee called a foul, and on the way back to defense, he was saying things. In the next play, the ball comes to me, and you can see how he almost pushes a teammate aside to break my face," he detailed. Rico is convinced that the incident was a premeditated assault. "If he had caught me wrong, I could have been left there, lying on the pitch," he emphasized. The lack of intervention from the video assistant referee (VAR), with Valentín Pizarro in charge, caused great outrage in the Getafe locker room. Both coach Bordalás and teammates like Luis Milla believed in the mixed zone that Rudiger's tackle deserved a straight red card. Diego Rico also criticized the double standards, suggesting that the punishment would have been much harsher if the roles were reversed. "If it were the other way around, I would have received a 10-game suspension and wouldn't play again this season. I don't know what the VAR is for, because it should intervene in these situations," he concluded.
Diego Rico Antonio Rudiger remains central to this story.
Diego Rico Antonio Rudiger remains central to this story.
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