Manchester City midfielder Rodri is facing disciplinary action after being charged by The FA over comments made about referees following the draw at Tottenham.
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Rodri is facing a potential ban after being charged with misconduct by The FA over comments questioning the neutrality of match officials following Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
The City midfielder reacted angrily to the decision to award Spurs’ first goal, scored by Dominic Solanke after contact with Marc Guehi, with referee Robert Jones and the VAR allowing it to stand. The Spaniard suggested there was a wider pattern in recent matches.
“He’s kicked the leg – it’s so clear,” Rodri said. “It’s a clear foul. But it’s not today, it’s two or three games in a row and I honestly don’t know why. I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win but the referee has to be neutral. For me it’s not fair.”
The Premier League’s Key Match Incidents Panel subsequently backed the decision to award the goal by a vote of 4-1 and also unanimously voted that Rodri should have been sent off in the same game after avoiding a second yellow card.
Speaking to Stan Sport after City surrendered a 2-0 lead, Rodri continued his criticism. “I don’t know how to feel, honestly,” he said. “Now I see the images, on the pitch of course you cannot see, basically a foul in the first action of the goal, it’s a clear foul! And VAR is for a reason, and these small details make the difference.
“It’s one game, and another game, and another game. It’s not possible.
“But it’s not [just] today, it’s just two, three games in a row, and I don’t know why, honestly,” Rodri added.
“I know we won too much and the people they just don’t want us to win, but the referee has to be neutral. And for me, honestly, it’s not fair.
“We need to be fair in these situations. It’s not just one, because everyone can [make] a mistake, we all have mistakes, no worries about one. But when it’s one, two, three, four in a row…it’s not possible.”
FA guidance allows for action in cases of “any comment which implies or appears to allege bias on the part of a match official”, and remarks suggesting officials are not neutral or are influencing sporting outcomes can also be deemed to bring the game into disrepute.
Rodri has until Wednesday to respond to the charge, with the possibility of a significant suspension now hanging over a key figure in City’s midfield.