BREAKING NEWS: I intentionally wanted to end His career yesterday for that foul language that He said to me in the tunnel,such a disrespectful kid doesn’t deserve to play football”, Rudiger finally reveals what Lewis Skelly said to Him yesterday before marching Him on the chest last night
BREAKING NEWS: I intentionally wanted to end His career yesterday for that foul language that He said to me in the tunnel,such a disrespectful kid doesn’t deserve to play football”, Rudiger finally reveals what Lewis Skelly said to Him yesterday before marching Him on the chest last night
Arsenal fans were mystified that Antonio Rudiger managed to remain on the pitch after appearing to ‘stamp’ on Myles Lewis-Skelly during the side’s 2-1 (5-1 agg) victory over Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Trailing 3-0 from the quarter-final first leg, Madrid, the holders, had an almighty let off early on as Thibaut Courtois denied Bukayo Saka’s weakly struck Panenka to keep the scoreline goalless in the 13th minute.
The roof came off the Bernabeu as Los Blancos were awarded a penalty of their own at the end of an absorbing first half, but the decision was eventually overturned following a lengthy VAR check.
Saka redeemed himself after his earlier miss with an exquisite 65th-minute dink over Courtois to silence the Madrid crowd and extend the visitors’ advantage, only for Vinicius Junior to hit back with an immediate response.
But the Gunners held firm and increased the deficit in stoppage time through Gabriel Martinelli, who beat Courtois with a composed finish to put the icing on the cake on a famous night for Mikel Arteta’s men
The north Londoners will do battle in the semi-finals with French champions Paris Saint-Germain, who survived a huge scare against Aston Villa to reach the last four on Tuesday evening.
Just before the flurry of goalmouth action in the second half, there was a moment which many Arsenal supporters were adamant was overlooked, as Rudiger trod on Lewis-Skelly’s crotch area with his left boot
Referee Francois Letexier initially allowed play to continue before eventually blowing up, with the Arsenal youngster pictured rolling around on the turf in agony.
‘No foul on Lewis-Skelly and Rudiger might well have trodden on him there,’ TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher said.
‘That’s why he’s in pain, the youngster. Now the referee is going to stop it.’
Slow-motion replays showed Rudiger’s studs clearly make firm contact with Lewis-Skelly just below the stomach, but the former Chelsea centre-back went unpunished – which left many Arsenal supporters apoplectic.
‘Clearest red card you will ever see by Rudiger. This referee is appalling,’ @1886_blog wrote on X.
‘Leader Rudiger stamping an 18 year old. Class,’ @theEpicGooner tweeted.
X user @terryflewers said: ‘Rudiger meant that 100 per cent, that’s a stamp on MLS.’
