Man City's Rodri fined £80,000 for ref comments

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been fined £80,000 for comments he made about the referee after last month's Premier League draw at Tottenham.

“- Published Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been fined £80,000 for comments he made about the referee after last month's Premier League draw at Tottenham”

BBC

The Spain international accused referee Robert Jones of not being neutral in City's 2-2 draw on 1 February.

BBC

The Football Association said Rodri admitted a charge that he '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'.

Rodri said he was angry that Dominic Solanke’s goal was allowed to stand after Solanke appeared to kick through the leg of City defender Marc Guehi.

After the game Rodri said: "I know we won too much and the people don't want us to win, but the referee has to be neutral."

BBC

He also said: "It's not fair because we work so hard. When everything is finished, you are frustrated."

The FA's regulatory commission was "unanimous" that the threshold had not been met for a playing sanction to be imposed.

“- Published Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been fined £80,000 for comments he made about the referee after last month's Premier League draw at Tottenham”

BBC

Rodri provided two letters as part of his evidence, saying in the first that his words were "misunderstood and misinterpreted by some media organisations".

In the second letter he acknowledged they were "inappropriate and fell below the standard expected".

He wrote: "I wish to make clear that I did not intend to imply bias or question the integrity of the match officials," adding that he has "always had, and continue to have, great respect for referees and the difficult job they undertake in a fast-moving and highly pressured environment."

He said his comments were made "in a moment of frustration after a disappointing result" and that "upon reflection, I recognise that the words I used were poorly chosen and capable of being interpreted in a way that I did not intend".