Across the past two matches that Manchester City have played, Rodri is beginning to show signs that he is returning to his best. The midfielder was superb in both matches, and it is clear that after enduring a frustrating beginning to this season, Rodri is back playing a key role for Pep Guardiola’s side. Now, Rodri faces a potential ban due to comments he made about the referee after Manchester City’s frustrating 2-all draw with Tottenham at the beginning of this month. Rodri has now been charged with misconduct for his post-match comments. It now remains to be seen what punishment the Spanish international will face for his recent comments.
Rodri is now facing a misconduct charge after the FA announced the charge against the Spanish midfielder yesterday.
The English FA announced that Rodri had been charged with misconduct yesterday. In a statement relayed by The Sun, the FA announced: “It’s alleged that the midfielder acted in an improper manner during a post-match media interview by making comments that imply bias and/or question the integrity of a match official and/or match officials, contrary to FA Rule 3.1.”
“Rodri has until Wednesday 18 February to provide a response.”
The comments that have seen Rodri charged with misconduct came after Manchester City’s 2-all draw with Tottenham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the beginning of this month. Rodri was furious that Dominic Solanke’s first goal of that match was allowed to stand. Solanke appeared to have fouled Manchester City defender Marc Guehi. Speaking on that incident, and the referees decision and a lack of action from VAR on the incident, Rodri said: “I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win but the referee has to be neutral and for me honestly, it’s not fair. It’s not fair because we work so hard in these situations and now to make these decisions, we have to move on.”
“Of course you need to come back but at the end, when everything is finished, we are frustrated because it’s so clear the foul. He kicked the leg and of course with the push of the action on the ball, the ball goes in. We have to pay attention to these little things otherwise it’s going to be difficult for everyone because this league is like this – it’s about small details and everything counts, so I think today is a very tough day for us in this sense.”
Manchester City have good cover for Rodri if he is indeed suspended.
It remains to be seen what punishment awaits Rodri now that he has been charged with misconduct. A fine, a suspension, or both could be on the cards for the general of the Manchester City midfield. If Rodri is suspended, there is good cover for him in Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Nico was superb earlier this season, stepping in for Rodri. The Spanish midfielder thrived and has shown how important he can be to Manchester City’s play. Nico O’Reilly has moved into midfield, and he and Bernardo Silva could more than fill the void left if Rodri is suspended. It used to be a case of no Rodri, no Manchester City. That is far from the case now. So while it would be a blow for City to lose Rodri, they have more than adequate cover for him to utilize.
The threat of Rodri facing a suspension is very real now that he has been charged with misconduct by the FA. If he is suspended, it will be a blow for Manchester City. But they do have cover for their midfield general in their squad, which would lessen the blow of losing Rodri for any period of time for Pep Guardiola’s side.