Rodrygo Goes has a World Cup to focus on but it has not stopped him launching a dig at the referees before he focuses on Qatar.
Los Blancos dropped five points in their last three league games before the break against Girona, Rayo Vallecano and Cadiz, after which the likes of Thibaut Courtois and Carlo Ancelotti complained loudly about the referees, not to mention Vinicius Junior’s vociferous complaints on the pitch.
In an interview with Diario AS, Rodrygo was asked about their poor form before the World Cup, an opportunity which he used to put more pressure on the referees.
“The defeat at Vallecas hurt us a lot. We were not up to it. And neither did referee allow us to be ourselves. Both Vini and I have suffered attacks in these last two games and the referees, very bad for not punishing them. They allow everything. I already said that it was a shame what happened to me with Fali and that the VAR didn’t say anything either. He looked at me and hit me, it was not an incident. I don’t know what the VAR is for. But we are self-critical. That night in Vallecas we didn’t play well. I think we could have been playing all night against Rayo and we wouldn’t have won.”
The Fali incident to which he refers to is a potential red card for the Cadiz defender. The central defender goes for Rodrygo and could, perhaps should, have been sent off for it. Although images show that Rodrygo raises his arm first to Fali.
Later in the interview, he was asked whether the referees have been favouring Barcelona and damaging Real Madrid. Rodrygo, without irony, responded that he did not like to talk about referees.
“I don’t really like to talk about the referees but it has been difficult in the last matchdays before the break. For rivals everything is easier than for Madrid. We talked about it in the locker room and we don’t know what’s going on. It’s kind of strange. With us they are not doing very well. Let’s see if things change when we return. In my disallowed goal against Girona, I no longer know which rule applies. For some it is a legal goal and others say it is a foul…”
Whichever way the refereeing decisions are seen, there is no doubt that the increasing narrative building in Madrid is a sign of the increasing pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu. Los Blancos were cruising through La Liga until those final three games but now find themselves behind Barcelona.