Getafe’s Juan Rodriguez has played down the severity of his stamp on Atletico Madrid’s Mario Mandzukic, arguing it ‘didn’t break his leg.’
Mandzukic scored the only goal of the game while Alexis was dismissed for striking the forward just before the hour mark.
A scuffle ensued in which Rodriguez appeared to stand on Mandzukic, the midfielder admitting to reporters that he did.
“Everyone saw it, I know. It’s not something that could have broken his leg and tempers were hot then,” he said, AS reports.
“There was also a judo throw in the penalty area for Atletico’s goal but nobody is talking about that.
“Atletico use these tactics a lot and nobody says anything. But this is football, it doesn’t matter.
“Football is physical. We’re not playing Parcheesi. It looks like we’re the rough team because of this but Atletico are too. They grab you and push you and nothing happens.”
Rodriguez was asked about a potential foul as Atletico scored what proved to be the winning goal as Atletico scored from another set-piece.
“I’ll have to see it again. Miranda pushed me and Mandzukic grabs Alexis, who maybe could have got the block in,” he recalled.
“That’s football. It happened today and against Cordoba, when our legitimate goal was cancelled. Now we recover and think about the next game. Congratulations to Atletico.”
