Real Madrid stars banned after Barcelona loss

Two Real Madrid players, Antonio Rudiger and Lucas Vázquez, have both received bans following their actions at the end of their Copa del Rey final loss to rivals, Barcelona.

Rudiger and Real team-mate Vazquez, who had both been substituted, were shown straight red cards in Seville for angrily reacting to a foul given against Kylian Mbappe shortly before the final whistle.

Referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea said in his report that centre-back Rudiger, 32, was dismissed for "throwing an object from the technical area, which missed me".

The report by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said the German defender had been given a six-game suspension "for minor violence against the referees".

The RFEF has also revoked the red card given to Real midfielder Jude Bellingham for dissent after the final whistle.

The referee's report said Bellingham "approached our position in an aggressive attitude, having to be restrained by his team-mates", but the RFEF said Real had provided video evidence which disproved this.

Under article 101 of the RFEF disciplinary code, which covers "mild violence" towards referees, Rudiger could have received a suspension of between four and 12 matches.

All six games of Rudiger's suspension will be served in league matches, meaning that it will extend until the start of next season.

He will be banned for the final five games in La Liga this campaign, and for the opening game of the 2025-26 campaign.

Rudiger is unlikely to be hugely impacted by the ban, after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday, which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.

Real did not give a timescale for his recovery, but Spanish media reports say he could be out for between six and eight weeks, which would rule him out of the rest of the domestic season and make him doubtful for the Club World Cup, which starts on 15 June.

Rudiger had apologised for the incident, saying there was "definitely no excuse" for his behaviour.

According to the RFEF, this apology was used as an attempted mitigation by Real for a reduction in Rudiger's ban.

Vazquez has been suspended for two games, both of which will be served in Copa del Rey fixtures.