Latest news with #AntonioRüdiger
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Real Madrid handed major injury boost for Club World Cup
Fans of La Liga giants Real Madrid have this week been made aware of some altogether positive personnel news in the club's first-team squad. This comes amid confirmation on the part of Diario AS that Antonio Rüdiger is some way ahead of schedule in his recovery from injury. German international Rüdiger was of course forced under the knife late last month. This came owing to a chronic knee issue which had been plaguing the former Chelsea man throughout the 2024/25 campaign. Initially, the understanding, in turn, was that Rüdiger would not be seen in a competitive setting again until next season, making use of the summer to enjoy a full recovery. As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, then the all-action defender could be back on the pitch much sooner… As per a report from : 'The efforts and hours of meticulous gym work Rüdiger has been putting in since his surgery are bearing fruit. The expectation is that he'll be part of the group that travels to the Club World Cup. He might even be available for Xabi Alonso for the second group stage match, against Pachuca, on June 22.' Conor Laird – GSFN
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Real Madrid's toxic targeting of referees is a symbol of the Spanish grandees' decline
Referees have never been so disdained and despised as they are now. Those who do not think they are corrupt, think they are incompetent. Standards, apparently, have never been lower. Clubs and their fans rage about conspiracies. But even in the present context, the scenes at the end of last Saturday's Copa del Rey final were unprecedented as Antonio Rüdiger threw an ice-pack at the referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea. And to think this is a club that used to pride itself on its sense of its señorio, its gentlemanliness, to the extent that in Steve McManaman's day players were given a code of conduct; the familiar line used to be whinging about referees was for the cry-babies of Barcelona. But this season alone Real Madrid have boycotted the Ballon d'Or ceremony after it became apparent that Vinícius Júnior would not win, alleged a refereeing conspiracy against them and then refused to perform pre-match media duties before the Copa del Rey final while fuelling rumours that they would not turn up for the game. Real Madrid TV had also, as it does with all referees before every game, highlighted past decisions De Burgos Bengoetxea had made against them, reducing him to tears in his pre-match media appearances. In the heat of the moment, players do occasionally lose the run of themselves, even if not quite as shamefully as Rüdiger did. Far more toxic are those destructive acts of pettiness instituted at executive level, not least because they create an environment in which players and fans, conditioned to believe they are being persecuted, are far more likely to react badly. At the heart of it all, the ageing general in his labyrinth, sits Florentino Pérez, who has been Madrid president for all but three years of this century. He has been wildly successful, with seven Champions League titles and a revenue 25% higher than that of the next wealthiest club in the world and yet he is at war with everybody, a 78-year-old watching the world changing around him, insisting it is all fixed against him. It is an ancient theme but this is a very modern story of populism and propaganda, of the failure of traditional journalism and the rise of social media, of hyper-partisanship and self-interested power destroying a culture. It was startling during the Super League fiasco to see how Pérez's nonsense would be faithfully reported by a complaisant local media, even as the rest of the world saw delusion. But even Marca and AS are not so wholeheartedly supportive any more, with the reliably madridista AS editor Alfredo Relaño, writing a column for El País last week in which he criticised Pérez for not pursuing Barcelona harder for having José María Enríquez Negreira, the then vice-president of the referees technical committee, on their payroll between 2003 and 2010. In other times, it is possible to imagine Madrid making more of Barcelona's shambolic financial situation, the questionable audits and the reluctance of Uefa to take action against them. But Pérez needs Barcelona, because they are the only club left backing his doomed Super League project. Lose Joan Laporta and Pérez would be completely alone. He has messed up another great side: just as the team that had won two Champions Leagues in the early 2000s was undermined by the sale of Claude Makélélé, the preference for celebrity over balance, so the team that won the league and Champions League last season has been undone by the failure to replace Toni Kroos and by the addition of Kylian Mbappé, a third left-sided forward who wants to cut in and struggles to perform defensive duties. That is not the only failure. The renovated Bernabéu may look impressively futuristic, but it cost €1.76bn (£1.51bn). VIP boxes have not been built and concerts cannot be staged there after protests from neighbours; two of the income streams that could have helped pay off the debt have been severely compromised. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion The dispute with the league means that television companies cannot broadcast from the stadium before or after games. The refusal to perform media duties before the Copa del Rey final was part of a broader pattern. Rights holders paid to have their studios in the ground and to conduct post-match player interviews, Madrid deny them and yet nothing is done. There is a staggering and highly corrosive lack of responsibility or self-reflection, while Madrid fill the gap with influencers who produce content rather than performing the journalistic duty of holding power to account. Decline on the pitch has been followed by decline off it. There is a temptation to trace this back to José Mourinho's time at the club. He was not the first manager to inhabit a post-truth world, but he was the first openly to acknowledge that a game begins in the press conference that follows the previous match. But he was a symptom not a cause. One of the reasons Barcelona rejected Mourinho in 2008 and Manchester United rejected him in 2013 was a fear that he did not fit the values of the club. For Madrid, the situation in 2010, with Barcelona rampant and Pep Guardiola reinventing football, was so dire they felt they could not afford such morality. What followed were two years of sulphurous battle that did eventually topple Barça and Guardiola, but at enormous cost. Madrid knew what Mourinho would do; they appointed him with their eyes open. Perhaps his example broke down some barriers and made it easier for the club once again to embrace self-interested petulance, but he was brought in by Pérez because Madrid were losing; he did not infect them. And now Madrid are losing again, Pérez has once again started lashing out at enemies, some real, but most imagined, most useful fictions to explain away the club's decline. Add in the baleful influence of social media, and the modern tendency for people to pick a side and support them no matter what, and the result is a tribalism so toxic that it renders football effectively ungovernable and potentially, given the absurd pressures on referees, unplayable. One of the reasons the Victorians saw sport as having an educational role was that it taught equanimity in defeat. Not to know how to lose is childish, yet it is a lesson a septuagenarian in Madrid has seemingly still not learned.
Saba Yemen
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Saba Yemen
Real Madrid announces absence of defender Rüdiger due to injury
Madrid - Saba: Spanish football club Real Madrid announced the absence of German defender Antonio Rüdiger from the squad after undergoing knee surgery. The club said in a statement that Rüdiger underwent surgery after suffering a tear in the external meniscus in his left knee during the team's match against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Times
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Times
Real Madrid's nefarious attacks on referees part of Super League plan
Anything that is not stopped is encouraged, and nobody in Spanish football has been brave enough to stop Real Madrid for too long now. Not Javier Tebas, the talkative head of La Liga, not the Spanish football federation (RFEF), whose showpiece match, the Copa del Rey final, was besmirched at the weekend. Real Madrid had soured the preamble with slurs and conspiracy theories, and what unfolded was the product. Antonio Rüdiger dismissed for aiming an icy missile at the referee, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea; Lucas Vázquez sent off for invading the pitch in protest; Jude Bellingham dismissed for further dissent in the closing minutes of the 3-2 defeat by Barcelona. What a shower they are. Yet this has been coming. It has been coming all season as Madrid continue to perpetuate their bogus tales of bias and injustice. Even Carlo Ancelotti is not immune to it now. Madrid's saving grace, a calm and dignified presence on the touchline, he too was booked in the final, because everyone at the club has to buy into the ludicrous notion that the world is against them. Witness the boycott of last year's Ballon d'Or award ceremony, because the judges had the temerity to select Rodri ahead of Vinícius Jr. The most contemptible development of all came on the eve of the game, after a crisis that was entirely provoked by the club. Real were trying to get the match officials changed, amid speculation they would not play at all. And that should have been the end of it. Instead of a 40-minute conversation with the Real director general, José Ángel Sánchez, the RFEF president, Rafael Louzán, should have issued the ultimate sanction. Real had tried to unfairly influence the outcome of the match by putting undue pressure on the officials — so Real should be gone. Let them explain it to their fans, already in Seville before the fixture. Let them explain it to their players, denied what may be their last shot at glory this season, with Barcelona in control at the top of La Liga. All season, Real Madrid's television network has been releasing videos calling into question the integrity of referees. The one released before the final about De Burgos Bengoetxea had reduced him to tears at a press conference. At that point, the authorities should have acted. Not because of the crying, but for what those tears represented. The overwhelming pressure to steer the game Real's way. To give them a penalty, to overlook their misdemeanours. It is increasingly impossible not to read an even deeper cynicism into this nefarious campaign. Real need to justify their continued drive for an exclusive Super League. What better validation than the falsehood they cannot get a fair game in the existing competitions? That the federation, the league, and Uefa are influencing referees to conspire against them? A club who consistently get their own way playing the victim, the underdog. The club of General Franco and royalty. Poor little Real Madrid. If Tebas was as interested in Spanish football as he is in poking his nose into business over here, he would have acted earlier in the season. Say what you like about the Premier League, but no club would be able to replicate the slanderous insinuations of RMTV. Referees make mistakes and can be criticised for them — that is free speech. Yet there are protocols here that stop a manager or club from so much as discussing the merits of an official prior to the match. Ancelotti and Sir Alex Ferguson were warned for actually praising Howard Webb before Chelsea played Manchester United in 2011. What Madrid did to De Burgos Bengoetxea, by comparison, was scandalous, and should have been enough to merit expulsion. A line has to be drawn. So, in some ways, the Copa del Rey got the final it deserved. An embarrassment, a travesty. There is talk referees in Spain could strike if this continues. In a country beset by blackouts, this would be a darkness that felt somehow deserved. No need for show when addressing Gakpo's vest Why on earth would the FA wish to pursue Cody Gakpo further over the message 'I belong to Jesus' written on the vest he revealed after scoring for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday? He has already been booked for taking his shirt off — the saviour being no match for nitpicking rules around what is appropriate behaviour on the football field — and no doubt his club will advise against repeat performances. The FA could have a quiet word, too, explaining that proselytising may have unimagined consequences and is therefore not encouraged, and that action will have to be taken if it continues. As this was an isolated incident, however, why use a hammer to crack a nut? It is not as if English football does not do religion. The FA Cup final even has its own hymn, Abide With Me, sung before kick-off. Mohamed Salah 's goal celebrations often include a religious gesture. Charging Gakpo would merely plunge the organisation into the culture wars and be seized upon by the usual opportunists. Anything that needs to be said can be kept private and, much like Gakpo's vest, there is really no need for show. Response to Aluko's latest claims speaks volumes When the cyclist Jess Varnish made a complaint of bullying against her coach Shane Sutton, she received widespread support from her peers. It was not the same when Eni Aluko delivered an eight-page letter of complaint against the England women's coach Mark Sampson. There was, at the time, a rather deafening silence from her team-mates. Sampson eventually lost his job after a revelation of inappropriate past behaviour, but not before he had taken charge of a match against Russia. When Nikita Parris scored England's first goal, the entire team ran to Sampson to celebrate. There have been recriminations and apologies since, and Aluko was vindicated in some of what she said. Yet it is intriguing that after her criticism of Ian Wright she once again does not appear to be commanding the popular vote. Aluko has said sorry after accusing him of hogging female space on punditry panels, but Wright refused to accept her apology. His social media post was liked by the present England internationals Alessia Russo, Mary Earps, Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Esme Morgan, plus notable figures including Sam Kerr, Jordan Nobbs, Katie McCabe and Izzy Christiansen. Inescapably, a pattern exists. Level on titles, but Amorim's side far behind Liverpool on pitch Liverpool and Manchester United are now tied on 20 titles each but, as an indication of the task facing Ruben Amorim, if Arne Slot's Liverpool had simply stopped playing after beating Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 on December 22 this season, they would still be ahead of United in the table. They could have turned it in after the 3-0 win over Bournemouth on September 21 and still been up on Southampton, mind. Officials changed game by showing red card for slip If Evanilson's red card is not rescinded we must conclude there genuinely is nobody at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) who understands football. We can already make that assumption of Peter Bankes and John Brooks. It was Brooks who, as VAR, saw the Bournemouth man very obviously slip as he went in to make a tackle on Manchester United's Noussair Mazraoui, yet summoned Bankes to the monitor to consider upgrading it to a straight red card offence; and it was Bankes who, as referee, saw clear evidence that this was an unfortunate mishap, yet changed his yellow to red. Manchester United had more shots at goal than in any other league game under Amorim but 15 of the 25 — including the 96th-minute equaliser — came after the 70th minute, when Evanilson was dismissed. Brooks and Bankes, not United, changed the game. Martínez must stop making himself centre of attention Since making himself the centre of attention when Aston Villa played Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals, it is hard to think of a good game Emiliano Martínez has played for his club. The spotlight is already on goalkeepers without making it brighter. Kepa Arrizabalaga's Chelsea career never completely recovered from that dreadful show at Wembley in 2019, when he refused to be substituted before the penalty shoot-out in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. Arrizabalaga, like Martínez, is clearly a very talented goalkeeper, as his displays for Bournemouth this season confirm, but he was not the same for Chelsea after and struggled to keep his place in the team. Martínez is not there yet but this is far from his best season, with save percentage numbers placing him 15th among Premier League goalkeepers. There is also a metric for expected saves and Martínez sits 16th with a PSxG of -1.8. It is not that Villa need a new goalkeeper, but perhaps they need more than just Robin Olsen to put pressure on him; and Martínez needs to be less of the story. FA Cup semi-finals have diluted romance of Wembley The sight of an entirely empty section of Manchester City's end for their FA Cup semi-final with Nottingham Forest should cause concern, and a discussion, within the FA. Is it time to revert to semi-finals at neutral club venues, and keep Wembley sacred? There was a time when a visit to the capital for a big match would have meant everything to City's fans. Not any more. This was their seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final and their 28th Wembley fixture in 14 years. Win the final next month and it will be 30 in August, for the Community Shield. And Wembley's expensive, from Manchester. The tickets, the travel, sustenance over a long day, a conservative cost estimate for those 28 games would be pushing £6,000. The magic has probably gone now. TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND Against that, most regulars can get tickets. The one advantage of semi-finals at Wembley is supply. Had City and Forest played at Villa Park, with its capacity of 42,918, some loyal fans would have missed out, as always happened. If the FA reverted to some of the grounds that once housed semi-finals, after an initial welcome would come an inevitable backlash as clubs burn through their reduced allocation. Yet, undoubtedly, a conversation is required. Wembley should be special and Sunday's game did not feel that way. Equally, the romantic idea of Wembley as a destination has been eroded. After a fabulous win over Aston Villa, Crystal Palace are now going to Wembley for the first time in nine years — except they were actually there last Saturday. Could that match not have been just as ably accommodated at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, or the Emirates? When the FA first moved semi-finals to Wembley it was out of economic necessity. The stadium needed to be paid for, so had to be used as much as possible. The England team stopped travelling around the country for much the same reason. The stadium now fully financed, this is wholly a commercial decision. Is it still necessary? Those empty seats suggest not.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Madrid and Germany's Rüdiger has knee surgery, gets six-game ban
Real Madrid and Germany defender Antonio Rüdiger had a knee operation on Tuesday and faces a race to be fit for the Nations League Final Four and the Club World Cup. The centre back was also hit with a six-game ban by the Spanish FA after throwing an object at the referee in Saturday's Spanish Cup final defeat to Barcelona. Advertisement "Antonio Rüdiger underwent surgery today for a tear in the outer meniscus of his left knee. The operation was performed by Dr Manuel Leyes under the supervision of Real Madrid's medical services," a club statement said. "Rüdiger will begin his recovery process shortly." No word was given on how long he would be out for, but meniscus injuries can be serious. Spanish newspaper AS said Rüdiger would be out for six to eight weeks and that the decision for surgery had been taken given he is likely to miss the La Liga run-in due to suspension. Madrid trail Barcelona by four points with five games left. Advertisement German website T-Online also said he would miss weeks rather than months. Germany's Nations League semi-final against Portugal is on June 4 in Munich, with the final or third-place match following four days later. Madrid's Club World Cup campaign starts on June 18 against Al Hilal in Miami. "After I have played more than seven month with severe pain, it was unfortunately unavoidable that I had to undergo a meniscus surgery. Now I'm finally pain-free again, and the surgery was a success," Rüdiger wrote on Instagram. "I want to be able to play again as soon as possible as two big tournaments with the Nations League and the Club World Cup are in front of me, but I have to look from week to week now and we will see. I will do everything I can to make it happen." Advertisement Despite his wish to be fit in time, Rüdiger is a huge doubt for at least the Germany games, amid calls for him to be dropped anyway because of his antics in the Copa del Rey final where he was red carded late in the game after being substituted. While Rüdiger got a six-game ban, team-mate Lucas Vazquez was banned for two games by the Spanish FA for arguing with the referee. A red card for Jude Bellingham was meanwhile rescinded. Kroos and Kahn defend Rüdiger Former Madrid and Germany team-mate Toni Kroos opposes any sanction by the national team against Rüdiger. "All these people coming out of the woodwork again, calling for him to be excluded from the national team and so on. Especially since some of them, let's just say, probably should have been suspended themselves back in the day," the 2014 World Cup winner said. Advertisement Other former national players, such as Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann, have sharply criticized Rüdiger. Rudi Völler, the sporting director of the German national team, told dpa on Monday the incident was "not acceptable." He added: "Especially as a Germany international. He has to change that and he knows that himself, as his public reaction shows." Retired Kroos warned against overreacting. "He will get his punishment and it will be justified. But we don't need to act as if he killed someone," Kroos said during an event for his indoor Icon League in Dusseldorf late on Monday. "You always have to be careful not to just go along with the flow." Advertisement Kroos said he had been in contact with Rüdiger, who has publicly apologized. "It was a big mistake, I think the images speak for themselves. He knows that too, and he is aware of it," Kroos added. Former Germany captain Oliver Kahn also came to Rüdiger's defence. "Emotions on the pitch are not always helpful. But who doesn't overshoot the mark sometimes," he wrote on social media. Rüdiger had shown contrition. "That should be enough for now," said Kahn.
