Man City’s Rodri avoids suspension following ‘neutral’ remark regarding referee
Rodri has avoided a suspension after acknowledging an FA charge related to remarks made about the officials following Manchester City’s draw with Tottenham.
The Spanish midfielder has been fined £80,000 ($107,000) and cautioned regarding his future behavior after alleging that referee Robert Jones was not “neutral” during the 2-2 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in February.
A statement released by the FA on Monday stated: “An independent regulatory commission has penalized Rodri for the media comments he made after Manchester City’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, February 1.”
“It was claimed that the midfielder behaved improperly during a post-match media interview by making remarks that suggest bias and/or question the integrity of a match official and/or match officials, in violation of FA Rule E3.1.”
“Rodri subsequently accepted the charge against him. The Regulatory Commission imposed an £80,000 fine and a warning regarding future conduct following a hearing.”
During the draw at Spurs, City expressed particular frustration as replays indicated that Dominic Solanke had kicked through Marc Guéhi’s leg to score while the home side made a comeback from 2-0 down.
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Rodri stated afterwards that City had been on the receiving end of similar decisions for “two, three games in a row.”
In a letter clarifying his comments — for which he has expressed regret — the 29-year-old mentioned he was referring to decisions not to send off Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot for a challenge on Jérémy Doku during the 2-0 derby loss at Old Trafford and to disallow an Antoine Semenyo goal in the 2-0 victory over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semifinal first leg.
