German legends call for harsh punishment for Real Madrid veteran after Copa del Rey antics | OneFootball

Antonio Rudiger couldn’t hold back his emotions and tried to go on the offensive against the referees in the Copa del Rey final.

Close to the final whistle, Rudiger was seen frustrated with the referees and even tried to throw ice packs at them. This incident led many to believe that he could face a lengthy suspension from the Spanish FA.

German footballing legends call for harsh punishment

Rudiger’s actions haven’t gone unnoticed in his native Germany either, with some of the country’s footballing legends now calling for harsh punishments against the defender.

“He went crazy, he was no longer in control,” Lothar Matthaus said in a recent interaction with Sky90 (h/t AS).

“He’s a German international, he should be an example. Yesterday he forgot all that,” the legendary midfielder added.

Lothar Matthaus is livid with Antonio Rudiger (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Matthaus went on to call for a harsher ban on Rudiger, adding, “If he walks away with a four-week suspension, he can be satisfied. I’m more thinking of a double-digit ban. I expect a massive ban. Besides, he was on probation.”

Matthaus’ statements were echoed by another German footballer, Dietmar Hamann, who urged the German footballing federation to intervene and suspend him from the national team.

“The federation must immediately suspend Rudiger from the national team,” said the former Bayern Munich and Liverpool star.

These statements indicate just the kind of trouble Rudiger is in at the moment. In the worst case scenario, the German could face a ban of up to 12 matches, while it will be interesting to see if the German national team take any action as well.

Rudiger, for his part, reportedly wants to utilise this time to work on his fitness and even undergo a knee surgery, having suffered from fitness woes throughout the season so far.