Germany defender Antonio Rudiger appeared to bite Paul Pogba in their Euro 2020 clash on Tuesday night but has denied these claims after being cleared of wrongdoing by UEFA. The Chelsea defender, never far from controversy, escaped a VAR check on the night but the incident was shared numerous times on social media.
Paul Pogba positioned himself near Rudiger but went down after contact with the defender, with replays appearing to show Rudiger sink his teeth into the Manchester United midfielder.
But the 28-year-old has denied those allegations, claiming that the incident was more down to an unfortunate clash rather than a malicious attack.
“I should not come close with my mouth to his back, no doubt about it,” Rudiger is quoted as saying by the Independent. “It looks unfortunate. Paul and I have talked about it as friends after the final whistle.”
UEFA announced on Wednesday morning that Rudiger had escaped punishment for the incident but the former Roma man will count his lucky stars as his side prepares to face Portugal on Saturday.
Defeat to Bruno Fernandes’ side for the Germans would all but confirm their exit from the competition, having also failed to make it out of the group in their disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign.
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