Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger has accused Gustavo Cabral of racial abuse during his team’s Club World Cup victory over Pachuca on Sunday.
The alleged incident occurred in stoppage time as Rudiger was seen approaching referee Ramon Abatti after an exchange with his opponent.
Cabral, a defender for Mexican club Pachuca, is alleged to have called Rudiger a ‘negro de mierda’ – a Spanish insult that translates as ‘f***ing n*****’ – sources inside the stadium have claimed to the Daily Mail.
It should be noted that Cabral has disputed the claim, stating he had instead called Rudiger a ‘cagon de mierda’, meaning ‘f***ing coward’.
FIFA are set to investigate the alleged incident after the referee activated the anti-discrimination protocol with a crossed-arms gesture.
Quizzed if Rudiger had been the victim of racism during the game, Real Madrid head coach Xabi Alonso told a press conference: ‘Toni told us something, we support Toni and we will see what happens.
‘I think the FIFA protocol has been activated to investigate, but if it has happened, all measures should be taken and we support Antonio because it’s something unacceptable.
‘In football there is no tolerance for this, and if it happened, then measures should be taken. This is what Antonio has told us and we believe him. It’s being investigated now.’
Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano was also asked about the incident – but said he was unaware of what had happened.
‘I just found out from you, you are letting me know, we did not talk about it in the dressing room,’ he said.
‘I haven’t spoken to Cabral about this, I cannot give you an explanation about it because this is the first [I have heard of] this news.
‘It cannot be justified at all but I will talk to him, I’ve known him for a little while and and I have never heard of something like that with Pachuca players.’
Real Madrid won the match 3-1 despite being reduced to 10 men after just seven minutes, with Raúl Asencio shown an early red card.
Goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Federico Valverde put the Spanish side in control before Elías Montiel scored for the Mexican side with 10 minutes to go.
Real Madrid are back in Club World Cup action on Friday when they face fellow European side Red Bull Salzburg in Group H.
