"It's a shame" - Real Madrid star furious with referees and VAR
Real Madrid star Rodrygo has slammed the referees and VAR following an intense La Liga clash against Cadiz at the Santiago Bernabeu. Rodrygo was not pleased with Los Piratas' center-back Fali, who hit the attacker on the back of the head.
However, the referee did not call for a foul, and VAR was not consulted either. Rodyrgo's teammate Vinicius Junior faced off with Fali during a heated exchange, with both players getting booked.
An unhappy Rodrygo spoke to DAZN (via Marca), slamming the referee's decision in an interview after the Real Madrid game:
"I think it's not an incident, he did it on purpose, he looked at me and hit me, it's a shame because then he tells me he hasn't done anything, the VAR is there, I don't know why, it's a shame."
The Cadiz defender also shared his view of the incident, explaining:
"I give him a little enough, but it's not to hurt him. It's not an elbow. With the image stopped, it seems more than it is. I apologized quickly."
The 29-year-old defender went ahead to slam Vinicius for attacking him after the incident:
"Just like I say about Rodrygo that he's a good boy, I'm not going to say anything about Vinícius. I prefer not to say anything. A club like Real Madrid must control certain attitudes. We have to respect a little more because we are partners."
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was also asked about his view on the incident as well:
"He told me that they punched him, I saw a video and it seemed like an attack to me."
Real Madrid sees off Cadiz threat to stay second in La Liga rankings
In a hard-fought match that saw six yellow cards shared by both teams, the Madridistas were on hand to secure all three points.
They broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, thanks to defender Eder Militao. The centre-back was unmarked in the box following a corner and a brilliantly-taken cross from Toni Kroos was all he needed to score the header.
Kroos was the man of the moment in the second half as his power-laced shot doubled Los Blancos' lead in the 70th minute. However, they couldn't keep the clean sheet, eventually conceding a goal in the 81st minute from a Lucas Perez rebound.