What did Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger do during the Spanish Cup final?
The has been hitting the headlines after losing his cool as his side lost the 2025 Spanish Cup final. The defender, who had already been substituted, reacted furiously to a refereeing decision against his teammate .
Gesticulations and verbal altercations, often bordering on abuse, are fairly common in football but Rüdiger went well beyond that. The 32 year-old was wild eyed as he was initially restrained by teammates and coaching staff before hurling an object, believed to be an ice cube, at referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. The Spanish official confirmed that the object missed him and Rüdiger was sent off.
What was the context to the incident?
Real had canceled their media obligations and open training session ahead of the match after de Burgos cried in a TV interview discussing the impact on him and his family of sustained verbal criticism against referees on Real Madrid TV.
“When a child goes to school and people tell him his father is a thief it’s messed up,” he said. “All I can do is educate my son so that he knows that his father is honorable, show him what refereeing is, and for everyone to reflect on where we want to go.”
Madrid hit back soon after: “These remarks made in a premeditated manner, 24 hours before [kick-off] against one of the participants in the final demonstrate, once again, a clear and manifest animosity and hostility against Real Madrid.”
The bad blood spilled over in the closing stages with Jude Bellingham and Lucas Vazquez also sent off for their reactions.
What happens to Rüdiger now?
A ban seems almost certain, with just the length of it in question. The disciplinary code states that “mild violence” towards referees can see a player suspended for between four and 12 matches. If the offense is deemed more serious, a ban of several months could be handed down.
Alexander Mitrovic, then of English club Fulham, was banned for eight games for pushing a referee in 2023, but there is little recent top level precedent for an incident such as Rüdiger’s.
Real are out of the Champions League, but they are still battling . Real Madid will also play in the revamped Club World Cup in the USA in June and July, and Rüdiger has international fixtures with in early June on his schedule.
What has the reaction been?
Rüdiger apologized for his actions on social media soon after the incident. “There’s definitely no excuse for my behavior,” he posted on social media the day afterwards. “I’m very sorry for that. Sorry again to the referee and to everyone I have disappointed.”
Condemnation for Rüdiger’s behavior has been near universal. Several other Real Madrid players reacted angrily but the defender is widely perceived to have crossed a line.
Former Germany international Dietmar Hamann wants to see Germany’s FA (DFB) take action: “I think the DFB should suspend him. I wouldn’t invite him to the Nations League finals and would leave him out for the two games,” he said on the Doppelpass TV show.
But Germany’s national team manager Rudi Völler suggested the DFB were unlikely to ban the player, even if they condemn his actions. ‘Toni is a great player but as a national player he must also show class in his behavior. He rightly demands respect for himself, and he must show also this respect to others without exception,” said Völler, who said the player had spoken with him and national team coach Julian Nagelsmann.
“Rudiger’s attitude, especially, was deplorable,” said Dani Garrido, the host of Spanish sports show Carrusel Deportivo. “Lucas [Vasquez] may have insulted, Vinicius came off like a madman, but what Rudiger did is unforgivable, and he’s going to get a historic ban.”
Former referee Thorsten Kinhöfer had his say in German tabloid Bild. “Rüdiger’s behavior is a disgrace. The national coach has to consider whether such a man can still represent our country.”
Is this the first time Rüdiger has been in trouble?
It’s not even the first time this year Rüdiger has found himself in hot water. UEFA, European football’s governing body, opened a case against him and teammates Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos following Real’s win over city rivals Atletico in March. After the victory, on penalties, Rüdiger appeared to make a throat-slitting gesture to Atleti fans. Rüdiger and Mbappe were eventually given suspended one match bans.
He was also criticized for shouting “Viva Athletic de Bilbao!” in the Real Madrid dressing room after a cup win over Bilbao’s fierce rivals, Real Sociedad.
Before these two incidents, Rüdiger’s career, which started in the with Stuttgart and has also taken in spells at Roma and Chelsea, had been largely controversy free. He had been campaign.
Edited by: Jonathan Harding
The post Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger and the ice cube controversy appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
