Rudiger allegedly racially abused in stoppage time of Real Madrid's Club World Cup win over Pachuca – The New York Times

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Antonio Rudiger was allegedly racially abused by Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral in Real Madrid's 3-1 Club World Cup win earlier today.
Rudiger alerted referee Ramon Abatti to the alleged comment during second-half stoppage time and the match official subsequently performed FIFA's protocol gesture to signal alleged racial abuse.
Cabral denied making a racist comment, saying after the match: “It was a fight, we collided, he said that I hit him with my hand and then there was an argument and the referee made the sign of racism. In Argentina we say “cagon de mierda” (a profanity used to call someone a coward) all the time. I told him the same thing.”
Rudiger's representative says the Madrid defender rejects Cabral's explanation. The Athletic has contacted FIFA for comment.
Speaking earlier, Madrid manager Xabi Alonso said: “Toni has told us something, the FIFA protocol is activated and an investigation is under way. We believe him. It is unacceptable.”
It came towards the end of the Spanish club's 3-1 win, with Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Fede Valverde scoring the goals after an early red card for Raul Asencio.
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Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger allegedly racially abused by Pachuca’s Gustavo Cabral at Club World Cup
Wanting more Club World Cup action on this very hot Sunday evening?
Then look no further.
Our build-up to the final game of the day is up and running as we preview Manchester City's Group G clash against Al Ain.
You can join us over there by clicking this link.
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Today marks the last of the staggered group-stage matchdays at the Club World Cup. That is because, as of tomorrow morning, every team will have played two group games.
So Groups A and B will be decided tomorrow — here is the schedule:
Group B: 3pm ET
Group A: 9pm ET
Once the full-time whistle has blown in the game between RB Salzburg and Al Hilal, there will be just one set of fixtures left in Group H.
And those two matches will be played on Thursday (June 26) and will be played at the same time to avoid any chance of collusion.
9pm ET
Two games down, two to go on the second Sunday of this Club World Cup.
The next match will be of particular interest to Xabi Alonso and his players as RB Salzburg and Al Hilal — the two threats to Real Madrid's claim to top spot of Group H — meet at Audi Field in Washington, DC, kicking off imminently.
Then, at 9pm ET, 6pm PT, 2am BST, it is back to Group G where Manchester City face Al Ain hoping to make it two wins from two.
We'll be covering the action as Pep Guardiola's side play, so make sure to join us by clicking here.
Let's hear from Real Madrid goalscorer Arda Guler.
💬 “As a team we did amazing because we suffered a lot, we played almost the whole match with ten players. We stayed as a team. My goal? Very good pass from Trent, very good pass from Gonzalo, very good me going in!
“Yes, I'm happier (than in previous years) because I'm playing, and playing in the middle. There is a lot of Arda left (to come at Real Madrid). Xabi Alonso asked me to do what I always do, control the game.”
Jude Bellingham has been playing with a long-term shoulder injury, which has seen him wear a brace to support the injury while playing. Such is his importance to Real Madrid that he has had to play through without having surgery but that looks set to change.
Here is what he said after the match:
💬 “Surgery on my shoulder, it'll be a couple of days after. Hopefully we get to the final and I'll get the surgery.
“I'm sick of playing in the brace, especially in this heat. It'll be nice to have my old body, my old shoulder back so I'm really looking forward to it.”
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That result was Xabi Alonso's first win as Real Madrid boss — an important milestone as well as a crucial result in the context of their group.
Fran Garcia has been speaking to DAZN after the match and revealed the mood inside the dressing room after that result.
“These are the first three points which give us more confidence to keep going well in the competition,” he said. "We didn't start the way we wanted. But the team's response was very good.
“The work and evolution we are doing will bring results, but it is not something that happens overnight. But we are all working together, committed as a team, which you saw today.
“The feelings are positive, we have to just keep working ahead of the coming games.”
A big win for Real Madrid, that one.
After a disappointing opening game, they have bounced back with a win that has taken them to the top of Group C.
They might finish the day second, though, as RB Salzburg are in action in a half hour's time against Al Hilal.
Despite the scoreline, there are positives for Pachuca to take from that result, not least the performance of their leading man Salomon Rondon.
Madrid are always going to be capable of unlocking teams with a moment of magic but for long spells of the game the Mexican outfit had momentum — and not by luck.
They deserved to get on the scoresheet, as they did late in the game, but this performance should be encouraging for their final group game.
A fun competition is emerging if Jude Bellingham's post-match comments to DAZN are anything to go by — he is competing with his brother Jobe to see who can score the most Club World Cup goals.
After Jobe netted for Borussia Dortmund yesterday, the pressure was on for Jude to make his mark for Madrid and he duly did so by bagging their opener.
Not a bad little rivalry to spur you on.
💬 “Everyone has been telling me that he (Jobe) is better than me now because he scored yesterday. So now it's 1-1 and we'll see what happens for the rest of the tournament!”
He scored Real Madrid's first goal and Jude Bellingham was as important to the team performance as ever.
Here's what he had to stay when chatting to DAZN after the match:
“We stayed together well. Raul (Asencio) made a bit of a mistake in the game, it's fine, he's young and it will happen. It's important to see how the team comes around each other to stay together and stay in the game against a really good side.
“Thibaut was brilliant. That's why he's there but we want to make him less busy next time. He's the best in the world for a reason. He saved us.
“The ball went wide (for the first goal), we worked it really well. Fran (Garcia) went wide with the ball, picked me out really well and it all happened so quickly that it's hard to explain it sometimes.”
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Xabi Alonso has been speaking to the media and gave his thoughts on two players involved in the big moments of this match in Thibaut Courtois and Raul Asencio.
Here's what he had to say while chatting to DAZN post-match:
💬 “We are so happy that we have Thibaut. In many games he has shown he is so reliable.
“Offensively today we had to rely on one player because we had one player less, it became really intense for us but we defended well and I'm pleased with the performance with one less player.
“We will have time to talk (to Asencio). He needs to learn from experience, this one early in the game you need to let him take the chance and not bring him down. He will learn from this one for the future.”
Elias Montiel impressed in this match and the 19-year-old got his reward for an impressive performance when he drilled a low shot past Thibaut Courtois.
What a grand stage to put in a good performance, too. He was a constant threat and was good value for his goal.
Opta stats tell us Real Madrid have attempted 27 shots in their two matches under new head coach Xabi Alonso.
That is their second lowest tally after the first two games with the same manager in all competitions since at least 2009/10 (Julen Lopetegui, with 24).
Here’s how we rate the Pachuca players after that second half:
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How about this for a photo — Valverde celebrates his goal for Madrid along with Vinicius Junior and Brahim Diaz.
A move and a goal well worthy of a look to the heavens.
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What a game! As we digest that match, here’s how we rate Real Madrid’s players:
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Valverde was absolutely everywhere and got his reward with a wall-taken goal in the second half.
So often Madrid’s star player in games this season, he drifted infield and caused all sorts of problems for Pachuca going forward.
A lovely surging run to get on the end of Brahim Diaz’s chipped pass made for a great finish for Madrid’s third goal.
He gets our (unofficial) vote for player of the match.
At 20 years and 57 days, Arda Guler has become the youngest player to score 10 goals for Real Madrid in all competitions since at least 2009/10, surpassing Vinicius Junior's previous record in 2020 (20 years and 80 days old).
Thanks to our friends at Opta for that stat.

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