Antonio Rüdiger's outburst: Toni Kroos defends former teammate

After his outburst in the Spanish Cup final, national player Antonio Rüdiger is receiving support from his former Real Madrid teammate Toni Kroos. "He'll get his punishment, and it will be justified. But we still don't have to act as if he killed someone," Kroos said on Monday on the sidelines of an Icon League event in Düsseldorf. "You always have to be a bit careful not to just go with the flow."

The 35-year-old Kroos also had contact with Rüdiger after the game. "I think the pictures speak for themselves that this was a big mistake. He knows that, he's aware of it," said the longtime Real Madrid player, who played for Madrid until last year.

Shortly before the end of extra time in the 2-3 cup final against FC Barcelona this weekend, Rüdiger insulted the referee and threw an object at him. The defender, who had already been substituted a few minutes earlier, received a red card – and apologized the next day.

There's already discussion about whether Rüdiger should face consequences for his behavior within the German national team. Kroos doesn't think so. "The people who come out of the woodwork again – and somehow demand exclusion from the national team and so on. Above all, some of these are people, let's put it this way, who probably should have been suspended at some point back then," said the former Bayern Munich player.

Other former international players, such as Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann, had sharply criticized Rüdiger's outburst. Rudi Völler, the sporting director of the national football team, said: "That's not acceptable. Especially not as a German international. He has to change that, and he knows it himself, as his public reaction shows."

Former national goalkeeper Jens Lehmann also warns against overly harsh consequences for Rüdiger.

Source: IMAGO/Revierfoto

Unlike other former internationals, Jens Lehmann also defended Rüdiger. "He's become such a great player because of who he is," the former goalkeeper told TV channel Welt. "And if you try to take that out of him now, he might not be able to perform at his full potential anymore."

Rüdiger "didn't display impeccable behavior there. But I think that's excusable; those are just emotions that get the better of someone from time to time." He can "say from personal experience that I was emotional myself."

RND/dpa/janp