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FC Barcelona secured a memorable 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Copa Del Rey on 26 April. While the match was remembered for the late heroics of Jules Kounde and a gritty comeback from the Blaugrana, a few Real Madrid players on the bench also caught the attention of fans for their heated reactions. Antonio Rudiger was amongst three Madrid players who were issued a red-card for their inappropriately aggressive reaction to a referee decision late in the match. Rudiger could also be seen throwing objects towards the referee and had to be contained by a few club officials.
In the aftermath of the events, Rudiger took to his social media handles and issued an apology from his end. He said, “There’s no excuse for my behaviour last night. I’m very sorry for that, sorry to the referee.” Rudiger explained how he felt helpless from the bench as he had to see his team go down in defeat and apologized for his heated temper and the actions that followed. This isn’t the first time that Rudiger has got into trouble for his actions during a match as he was previously fined by UEFA for one of his celebrations in the round of 16 match against Atletico.
Real Madrid players send messages to fans after crushing Copa Del Rey final defeat
A lot of Real Madrid players have issued public statements to the fans of the club, saying that they are sorry for not producing a favourable result. Midfielder Jude Bellingham wrote on his social media handles, "We left it all out but it wasn’t to be. 5 more finals now, we’ve to give everything we have", referring to the remaining five LaLiga fixtures where Madrid will have their only opportunity to win some silverware this season.
Fede Valverde also took to his social media handles by saying, "It happened again. And it will surely happen again many more times, because it is the road we are building and it is normal that one falls after so many miles… We'll be back, we'll continue and there I'll be leaving everything for the respect Madrid deserves, its people and everything that involves playing in the most winning team in history".
