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.

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

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

“I know we won too much and the people don’t want us to win, but the referee has to be neutral,” Rodri said after the game.

“It’s not fair because we work so hard. When everything is finished, you are frustrated.”

The FA’s regulatory commission was “unanimous” in its view that the threshold had not been met for a playing sanction to be imposed on Rodri, who sent two letters as part of his evidence.

In the first letter, he said his words were “misunderstood and misinterpreted by some media organisations”, but in the second he acknowledged they were “inappropriate and fell below the standard expected”.

“I wish to make clear that I did not intend to imply bias or question the integrity of the match officials,” Rodri wrote in the second letter.

“I have always had, and continue to have, great respect for referees and the difficult job they undertake in a fast-moving and highly pressured environment.

“My comments were made in a moment of frustration after a disappointing result.

“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.”