Real Madrid receive Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe sanction verdict

Real Madrid have finally received the sanction verdict for both Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe today after weeks of uncertainty and anxiety amongst the Madrid faithful and manager Carlo Ancelotti.

UEFA opened an investigation into Real Madrid’s celebrations after the last-16 triumph over Atletico Madrid, which sparked a lot of controversy with Rudiger and Mbappe under scrutiny alongside Vinicius Junior and Dani Ceballos for a series of gestures.

However, reports coming in indicate that Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe are both free to face Arsenal in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg after avoiding an immediate suspension.

Rudiger was seen running his thumb across his throat towards the crowd at the time, raising significant fears that he would be handed a suspension and ruled out of the Arsenal clash.

Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe cleared to featured against Arsenal in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final

However, UEFA has rather issued both Rudiger and Mbappe with one-game bans, which will not be enforced immediately and will instead be subject to a one-year probation, meaning the pair are both free to face Arsenal on Tuesday.

Rudiger has been issued a fine of €40,000, while Mbappe will pay €30,000 for his own gesture.

Ceballos has avoided any sort of ban and has simply been issued a €20,000 suspension, while no further action was taken against Vinicius.

The news comes as a significant boost for manager Carlo Ancelotti, something that could be seen by rivals as a “let-off” for the Madrid giants, given that Rudiger, Vinicius, and Mbappe are all permanent starters for the Los Blancos.

Ceballos, on the other hand, was a starter in the Madrid lineup but is currently sidelined with a muscle injury. The Spanish is expected to miss both legs.

UEFA’s fine concludes another swift investigation involving Real Madrid, after an official ‘ticket’ was opened by Ancelotti’s arch-rival Diego Simeone for what he believed to be an unfair decision to disallow a ‘clean’ goal by Julian Alvarez in the shootout of Champions League group-stage second leg.