Rodrygo complains about Raillo tackle that injured Real Madrid forward

Brazilian not happy with nasty challenge

Posted Wednesday, March 16, 2022 by Marca.com

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo has criticised the tackle which saw him leave the game against Mallorca injured, unable to weight bear on his right leg after a nasty challenge by Antonio Raillo, who arrived very late and planted his studs on the Brazilian's foot, which the referee only deemed worthy of a yellow card for the defender.

On Tuesday morning, on Instagram, the Real Madrid player shared two images in relation to the incident. The first shows the state of his ankle in a recovery brace, along with a 'good morning' and an emoticon of a pained face. The second shows the hard tackle by Raillo, which perhaps deserved more punishment.

The Mallorca captain, in the heat of the moment just after the match, told Movistar that it should have actually been a foul against the Brazilian.

"He fouled me because I touched the ball first and he kicked me, but he's wearing white and there's a different criteria," said Raillo.

Raillo's reluctant change of heart

Shortly after those words, in the press conference, with his heart rate lowered after a shower, and having seen the incident on television, Raillo changed his tune ever so slightly.

"On the pitch it gives me a feeling... I touch the ball... seeing the video it's a stronger tackle than it looks like," said Raillo.

"My feeling is that I touch the ball, he hits me and it's a foul on him. Then when you watch it back, you say, 'oh damn, maybe I went in a bit stronger'. A fellow player had to come off injured and that's not good. At the end of the day the criteria for any clash is more likely to fall on their side."

It now remains to be seen the extent of the injury suffered by Rodrygo as a result of the tackle at Son Moix. The Brazilian is one of Ancelotti's most used players, although he almost always comes off the bench. Against Mallorca, however, he started in place of Asensio.