Munich (Germany) (AFP)
"I do not have the right" to do that: the German defender Antonio Rüdiger regrets his gesture on Tuesday night on Paul Pogba against France (1-0) at the Euro, but ensures that he did not bite the middle of the Blues .
"I am not allowed to go like this with my mouth against his back, it goes without saying. It looks bad," said the Chelsea player, in a reaction released on Wednesday by his personal agent.
“After the final whistle we spoke very friendly with Paul,” continued the recent Champions League winner with Chelsea, “and both with me and afterwards in an interview he confirmed it was not a bite , as some had thought at first ".
The 28-year-old German does not expect to be penalized after the fact as Spain's match referee Carlos del Cerro Grande did not take action at the time.
"He told me that he would have penalized me if he thought it was a fault," Rüdiger said.
Pogba, very upset at the time, reported the incident to the referee, but then wanted to play down at a post-match press conference.
"We're friends, we've known each other for a long time. It was nothing serious," said the Frenchman, named UEFA's man of the match, "I think he nibbled on me a bit. didn't get a card and I think it's better that way. I don't want him suspended because of that. We kissed at the end of the match and that was it ", a- he explained.
© 2021 AFP