The 2025 Copa del Rey final will be remembered for many years. Barcelona claimed the title with a 3-2 extra-time victory over Real Madrid, in a match full of notable moments. One of those was the red card given to Antonio Rudiger after a strong reaction toward the referee near the end of the game.
Rudiger played through the match despite not being at 100% physically, making an extra effort to help the team in the absence of other defenders like David Alaba and Eder Militao. However, the German player was eventually replaced by Endrick with 10 minutes left in extra time, completely exhausted.
After leaving the field, Antonio watched as Barcelona scored their third goal through Jules Kounde and saw Real Madrid push hard in the final minutes to equalize and send the match to penalties. In that tense moment, the referee, Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, called a foul on Kylian Mbappe for a challenge on Eric Garcia, which denied Los Blancos their final chance to attack.
This sparked an outburst of fury among the Real Madrid players, especially those on the bench, like Vinicius. However, the most vocal protest came from Rudiger, who made exaggerated arm gestures and verbal reprimands, even appearing to throw an object onto the field. This eventually led to him being sent off.
The red card, however, did little to calm the anger of the German star, who had to be restrained by his own teammates to prevent him from approaching the referee and continuing his protests. This incident is likely to result in a severe sanction for Antonio in the future.
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Rudiger wasn’t the only Real Madrid player sent off
The scandal in the final minutes, as Real Madrid players protested against referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea, didn’t end with Antonio Rudiger’s red card. The referee judged that, in addition to the German defender, Lucas Vazquez had also displayed inappropriate behavior in that situation, resulting in his red card as well.
Like Rudiger, Vazquez was also off the field when he received his red card, so Real Madrid was able to finish the final minutes of the match against Barcelona with 11 players on the field.
What’s next for Real Madrid?
The loss in the 2025 Copa del Rey final marks the third major setback for Real Madrid this year. Earlier, they were defeated 5-2 by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Saudi Arabia. Just a few weeks ago, they were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, losing both legs of the quarterfinals to Arsenal.
With this in mind, Real Madrid now has just one competition left to focus on in the 2024-25 season: La Liga. Currently, they sit in second place with 72 points, 4 behind leaders Barcelona, and have 5 matches remaining. Their next game is this Sunday against Celta Vigo at home.
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Can Real Madrid win the La Liga title this season?
