What significance does the x sign made with the arbitrator's arms at the Real Madrid - Pachuca match, from the Club World Cup

What significance does the x sign made with the arbitrator’s arms at the Real Madrid – Pachuca match, from the Club World Cup

In the victory of the Real Madrid football team with 3-1 on the Mexicans from Pachuca, the World Cup, German defender Antonio Tudiger claims he received racist insults from an opponent, Gustavo Cabral, accusations he denied. It was the moment when the center referee made the X sign with his arms.

The referee’s sign at the match played on Sunday night

FIFA opened an investigation after the statements of Antonio Rudiger, who claims he was offended by the footballer of the Mexican team during the match that Real held in 10 people, after the Asentio River was eliminated in the 7th minute.

Brazilian referee Roman Abatti Abel, after receiving Rudiger’s complaint, had to activate the new FIFA protocol against racism: he formed the X sign with the arms that trigger the procedure in the racist insults, discriminatory scandals or offenses of an ethnic, religious or sexual nature.

Cabral does not recognize

“Antonio told us that the protocol will be activated. An investigation is in progress. If it has really happened, all the necessary measures must be taken, because it is unacceptable. There is no tolerance for this in football“Said Xabi Alonso, from Real Madrid, after the match on Sunday night.

Argentine defender Gustavo Cabral, who bears the same number (22) as his rival, has defended. “There was nothing racist. I called him a coward … as we say in Argentina. That’s all“Said Cabral. And his coach, Jaime Lozano, was surprised:”I have no explanation, because this is the first time I hear this story. I will talk to him about it, I have known him for some time and I have never heard of such things happening with Pachuca players”.

“Gesture without racism“Showed by the referee was presented for the first time on May 17, 2024 at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand and involves three phases. After the first signal, the referee can decide if the match interrupts. Then an advertisement from the stadium is expected. Finally, the match is suspended, and the players are to be invited. final of the match.

In the group of group H, before the last round, Real Madrid and Salzburg each have 4 points, Al Hilal has two points, and Pachuca has no point.

Adrian Stoica

Adrian Stoica

Adrian is the founder and the visionary behind Cluj Napoca, a media platform committed to capturing and sharing the vibrant stories of Cluj-Napoca and Romania with an international audience. A graduate in international journalism from the University of Bucharest and holder of a Master’s in Cultural Studies from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Adrian has a robust educational background that equips him to understand and analyze the complexities of his native region's culture and history.