Antonio Rudiger expresses regret over the referee incident that occurred during the intense Copa del Rey El Clasico final defeat against Barcelona.

The German centre-back was substituted during extra time with the score tied at 2-2, but a dramatic 116th-minute goal from Jules Kounde handed Barcelona a thrilling Clasico victory.

Tempers flared in the dying moments of the match when Kylian Mbappe was fouled, igniting fury from the Real Madrid bench. Rudiger, in particular, was incensed, leading to the referee’s post-match report stating that the defender was shown a red card for “throwing an object from the technical area, which missed me.” The object in question appeared to be a bag of ice, and Rudiger now faces the prospect of a significant ban.

In an Instagram story, Rudiger expressed remorse, stating, “There’s definitely no excuse for my behaviour last night. I’m very sorry for that. We played a very good game from the second half on. After 111 minutes I was not able to help my team anymore and before the final whistle I did a mistake. Sorry again to the referee and to everyone I have disappointed last night.”

The match also saw Lucas Vazquez and Jude Bellingham receive red cards, with Bellingham reportedly confronting officials with an “aggressive attitude” and needing to be restrained by his teammates.

Referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea faced criticism from Real Madrid prior to the match, following a press conference where the club accused him of demonstrating “hostility and animosity” towards them. In protest, Real Madrid boycotted their pre-match press conference and photo-call, which only heightened the tension in what was already a fiercely contested final.

After the match, Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti declined to comment on the officiating, stating, “I don’t want to talk about the referee.” Reflecting on the defeat, he added, “We had the game under control, but they tried to get a ball behind us and that’s when things got complicated. We have to keep fighting because we gave everything we had. We competed very well. We were closer than our opponent. It hurts that we weren’t able to lift the cup, but we did the job we had to do.”