CHARLOTTE
\nReal Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said his defender Antonio Rudiger had complained of a racist incident at the end of Sunday\u2019s 3-1 Club World Cup win over Mexican side Pachuca. Rudiger was visibly angered following an exchange of words with Pachuca\u2019s Gustavo Cabral after the final whistle and spoke to Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti Abel.
\nCabral denied he had racially abused the German centre-back.Asked about the incident in the post-match press conference, Alonso said: \u201cToni told us something, we support Toni and we will see what happens. \u201cI 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\u2019s something unacceptable.
\n\u201cIn 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\u2019s being investigated now,\u201d he said.Cabral, 39, spoke after the game and said his words had been misinterpreted by Rudiger.
\nThe Argentine said he had called the defender a \u201ccoward\u201d, with the Spanish phrase he used similar to another which is linked to racist abuse.
\n\u201cThe referee made the racism sign but I was telling him the same thing the whole time \u2014 (coward),\u201d said Cabral. Pachuca coach Jaime Lozano was also asked about the incident but said he was unaware of what had happened. \u201cI just found out from you, you are letting me know, we did not talk about it in the dressing room, I haven\u2019t spoken to Cabral about this, I cannot give you an explanation about it because this is the first (I have heard of) this news,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt cannot be justified at all but I will talk to him, I\u2019ve known him for a little while and and I have never heard of something like that with Pachuca players. I cannot defend my captain at any cost but I will talk about it with him,\u201d he said. FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHARLOTTE Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said his defender Antonio Rudiger had complained of a racist incident at the end of Sunday\u2019s 3-1 Club World Cup win over Mexican side Pachuca. Rudiger was visibly angered following an exchange of words with Pachuca\u2019s Gustavo Cabral after the final whistle and spoke to Brazilian referee Ramon Abatti […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":486143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-486132","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n