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Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral has denied racially abusing Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger during the two sides' FIFA Club World Cup game on Sunday, June 22. He claimed he called the German defender a 'coward' during the match, and did not make racist remarks.
Speaking to the media (via GOAL) after the game, Cabral said that he had an argument with the Real Madrid star but didn't racially abuse him. He also added that the referee was informed of the same during the game, saying:
“It was an argument. The referee signalled racism, but nothing happened. It's a word we use a lot in Argentina: 'sh*tty coward'. I kept telling him the same thing. If you want to look up the word, in the image you'll see that I'm constantly telling him 'f*cking coward, get up'.”
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Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano, during his post-match conference, said that he was unaware of the incident during the game. He added that he had no conversation with Cabral regarding the same, saying (via METRO):
"I just found out from you, you are letting me know, we did not talk about it in the dressing room. I haven’t spoken to Cabral about this, I cannot give you an explanation about it because this is the first [I have heard of] this news. It cannot be justified at all but I will talk to him, I’ve known him for a little while and and I have never heard of something like that with Pachuca players."
Real Madrid got their first win of the FIFA Club World Cup against Pachuca, despite the sending-off of Raul Asensio inside 10 minutes. They won 3-1 with goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Federico Valverde.
Real Madrid manager confirms Antonio Rudiger has reported racist abuse
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso confirmed that Antonio Rudiger heard racist abuse from the Pachuca defender. He added that the FIFA protocol had been activated, and an investigation had begun. He said (via METRO):
“Toni told us something, we support Toni and we will see what happens. I think the FIFA protocol has been activated to investigate, but if it has happened, all measures should be taken and we support Antonio because it’s something unacceptable. In football there is no tolerance for this, and if it happened, then measures should be taken. This is what Antonio has told us and we believe him. It’s being investigated now."
Real Madrid face RB Salzburg in their final group stage match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday, June 26. Pachuca will take on Al Hilal in their final group game.
