Stan Collymore says Rodri deserves the Ballon d’Or. Photo by: Karl Lesseen/Getty Images
Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been charged by the Football Association for recent comments questioning the integrity of Premier League referees.
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The Spain international has been given one week to respond to the charges, which could result in a temporary suspension.
Rodri vented his frustration after Man City’s recent 2-2 draw away to Tottenham, suggesting match officials were biased against his club because they had won too many games.
Rhodri’s comment put him in a predicament.
“I know we won too much and people don’t want us to win, but referees have to be neutral,” Rodri said after the draw with Spurs, BBC Sport reported.
“We work so hard and it’s not fair. After it’s all said and done, you get frustrated.”
This is clearly a far cry from the Spain international, who has extensive experience at the highest level and would have known better than to make such serious accusations.
Manchester City could be without Rodri in close match against Arsenal
It’s not yet clear whether Rodri will definitely be suspended for a few games, and it’s probably hard to imagine he’ll be suspended for that long.
Still, he is important enough to Josep Guardiola’s side and with the title race so close this time against rivals Arsenal, missing a key game at the right time could make a big difference.
Of course, City have the depth of their squad and should be able to cope without Rodri in the short term. That said, we saw how long Rodri was out last season and how much the team struggled without him.
