Barcelona won the Copa del Rey final after a memorable 120 minutes on Saturday, but the main talking point could be about Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, who exploded with rage in the final stages of the match at La Cartuja.
In the final minute of stoppage time at the end of extra time, referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea blew for a foul on Eric Garcia by Kylian Mbappe, and that was met by extreme fury from the Real Madrid dugout. Both Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Junior charged on the pitch, while Rudiger is reported to have thrown an object towards the official.
VINICIUS Y RUDIGER DEBERÍAN TENER 8 PARTIDOS DE SANCIÓN, QUE HACEN TIRÁNDOLE ALGO AL ÁRBITRO https://t.co/gFWiqNd3Rn
— Info Blaugrana (@10InfoBlaugrana) April 26, 2025
Unsurprisingly, he was sent off, and so was Lucas after the full time whistle for his part in the incident. And it was also confirmed by Relevo reporter Rodra that a third Real Madrid player was also shown a red card by De Burgos Bengoetxea, believed to be either Vinicius or Jude Bellingham.
It will be Rudiger’s actions that steal the headlines over the coming days, as he had to be held back from confronting the referee by Real Madrid teammates and also members of the coaching staff. He was eventually dragged away before returning to the pitch after full time, at which point he exchanged handshakes and hugs with some Barcelona players.
And the frustrations spilled over from the Real Madrid bench at the end! 😳
Antonio Rudiger has to be held back by his teammates as he tries to get to the referee 😬 pic.twitter.com/CKBtqnMje8
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) April 26, 2025
It remains to be seen what suspensions are handed out to the three Real Madrid players that were dismissed, and also whether these bans would carry over to La Liga. If so, there is chances for them to miss out when the final El Clasico fixture of the season takes place at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in two weeks’ time. In the coming days, the Spanish Football Federation’s Disciplinary committee will rule on the matters, but at this stage, there are fears that Rudiger in particularly could be suspended for a while.
Varcelona at it’s finest, we should have gotten like 4 penalties, investigate that referee’s bank account please. Would have done the same thing if I was Rudiger
Funny, he didn’t seem to have a problem with the referee when he fouled Ferran Torres in the box and got away with it.
@JohnF, When did this happen? Real Madrid deserved like 4 penalties, and the Barca players were diving left right and centre. Lamine Yamal gets the Neymar haircut and starts diving like Neymar as well.
True!
The RM board had decided to act poor and not buy replacement wing backs… meaning that Fran Garcia was tasked with the job of keeping out Lamine and Lucas Vasquez trying to stop Rafinha. This would lead to our midfield stretched against ALL teams this season – not just the best attack in Europe this season. With zero contributions from the forwards in pressing, it was understood our fate was sealed this season. The board decided to forego all titles this season by stopping player purchases to replace a worrying injury/retirement/exit list. They expected Ancelotti to perform another miracle like last season. This much we understand.
What is not understood is frothing at the mouth sheer craziness from Rudiger outside the field of play for at least the 2nd time this season. I’m sorry but this guy has ZERO of the qualities that Santiago Bernabéu envisioned a REAL MADRID player to possess. Add to that the Captain of RM also behaving the same is unbelievable to watch.
I’m sure there will be a lot of casualties from this season’s results but the board’s decision to effectively not compete this season in favour of waiting for the “plum” players on a free at the end of 24/25 is also unbelievable.
This is at best a lesson in becoming intoxicated with success to the point of over confident.