UEFA Upholds Fines for Mbappé, Rüdiger, and Ceballos

Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger, and Dani Ceballos are slated to pay financial penalties after UEFA dismissed Real Madrid’s appeal concerning disciplinary actions imposed on them for player behavior.

Last April, the European governing body penalized Mbappé, Rüdiger, and Ceballos with fines of €40,000, €30,000, and €20,000 (equivalent to $47,000, $35,000, and $23,400), respectively. These penalties were for “breaching fundamental standards of proper conduct” during the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash. Real Madrid secured a win against Atlético Madrid in that match on March 12 through a penalty shootout.

UEFA’s appeals division asserted that there was insufficient justification to reverse the disciplinary rulings issued on April 4 by the control, ethics, and disciplinary committee.

During the game, Mbappé received a yellow card for taking the ball from Marcos Llorente, who had attempted to tackle Rüdiger before the decisive penalty. Rüdiger was filmed making a throat-slitting gesture directed at Atlético supporters following his goal.

Ceballos was found guilty of violating conduct regulations for inciting fans at the Metropolitano stadium.

Rüdiger and Mbappé also received a one-match suspension, to be enforced only upon subsequent offenses.

Furthermore, Rüdiger was involved in a separate occurrence where he allegedly threw an item at the referee. This led to his expulsion during Real Madrid’s 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, marking their third defeat of the season against their rivals.

Real Madrid is scheduled to compete against Champions League victors Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the FIFA Club World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.