Antonio Rüdiger faces potential racial discrimination during the Club World Cup clash against Pachuca FC

Antonio Rüdiger was involved in a controversial moment during Real Madrid's clash with Pachuca. (Image credits - Heute, License Details)

Antonio Rüdiger is making the headlines, as a controversial incident involving him has sparked outrage amongst fans, which took place during Real Madrid's match against Pachuca FC in the group stage clash of the FIFA Club World Cup.

According to BBC Sport, FC Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral clashed with the colossal German defender during stoppage time and used an expletive, where he also called him a "coward".

This particular incident has created a massive storm in the football community, where the fans have targeted and raised questions against the anti-discrimination protocols of FIFA.

The Rüdiger-Cabral incident: What happened?

After the match, Real Madrid's manager Xabi Alonso spoke about the incident and said, "Toni has informed us about something. We have to wait and see now. I think the FIFA protocol has been activated to investigate. But if something did happen, measures need to be taken, and we support Antonio because this is something unacceptable." (sic)

He further added, "There's no tolerance for this at any level of football, and whenever it occurs, measures must be taken. That's what Antonio has told us, and we believe him." (sic)

However, the Pachuca captain Gustavo Cabral later gave his clarification and stated, "It was a fight. We collided. He said that I hit him with my hand, and then there was an argument, and the referee made the racism sign, but I was telling him the same thing the whole time." (sic)

Pachuca head coach Jaime Lozano also opened up his thoughts on the incident, where he said, "I haven't spoken to Cabral about this. I cannot give you an explanation about it because this is the first time I've heard of this news." (sic)

He further added, "It cannot be justified at all. I've known him for a little while, 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." (sic)

While Real Madrid and a certain section of fans believe that there was racial discrimination involved in the incident, Pachuca and another section of fans believe that it was just a heated argument, with no racial abuse involved.

From the statements made by representatives of both clubs, it seems clear that both sides tried to defend themselves during the post-match interview, which has increased the complexity and confusion of this situation for FIFA as they have begun to investigate the incident.