Getafes Rico accuses Real Madrids Rudiger of trying to smash my face in

Diego Rico from Getafe stated on Tuesday that Antonio Rudiger of Real Madrid attempted to bash his face during a La Liga encounter in the Spanish capital the night before.

An altercation occurred between the pair of defenders during the opening half of the game, where the away side Getafe secured a 1-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday.

The German centre-half Rudiger struck Rico on the head using his knee, which provoked fury among Getafe team-mates.

Rico explained to Spanish broadcaster Cadena Cope that in such instances of aggression, it appeared Rudiger targeted him deliberately.

In the prior exchange between them, the official had signalled a free-kick, and as Rudiger returned to position, he was uttering remarks.

Immediately after, when the ball reached Rico, footage shows Rudiger shoving his own colleague aside solely to aim for Ricos face.

Had the contact landed improperly, Rico might have been seriously injured, lying motionless on the field.

Rico continued the match following the clash.

The defender on the left indicated that should he have performed a similar action, he would face a suspension of 10 matches, missing the remainder of the campaign.

Real Madrids loss, marking their consecutive second setback in La Liga, positioned them four points adrift of table-toppers Barcelona.

Rudiger, previously with Chelsea and Roma, who celebrated his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, received a six-game suspension last term for hurling an item at an official in Real Madrids Copa del Rey final loss to Barcelona.