'I didn't kill him' — Rudiger rejects claims over knee on Diego Rico

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger has addressed the fallout from his collision with Diego Rico during the 1-0 defeat to Getafe, after appearing to drive his knee into the grounded Getafe player's face and drawing calls for a lengthy suspension. Speaking ahead of Real Madrid's Champions League clash with Manchester City, Rudiger said the images looked bad but insisted his actions were not malicious.

"Everyone saw the images and they were terrible but if you see the play itself, I'm not going to argue but I didn't kill him," he said. He added: "I don't think you should exaggerate the contact. If I had the intention, he doesn't get up off the ground" and that "It was never my intention to hurt him.

antonio rudiger, diego rico, real madrid, getafe, knee collision, suspension calls, champions league, manchester city, match footage, intent debate